Going Back To The Start
by IShipVauseman
Summary: Piper Chapman had always dreamt about the day she would become an English teacher. However, she never thought that she would be going right back to the start, teaching at Litchfield High. What happens when she meets the sexy head teacher Alex Vause?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! I've never written anything before but I've wanted to for so long so i just thought i'd start typing and this is what I came up with!**

 **Really not sure how to feel about it or what direction ill be taking this story in so i guess we'll just have to wait and see. I have quite a bit of time on my hands for a few weeks before things start to get hectic so ill be hoping to roll quite a few chapters out.**

 **Please let me know what you think or where you'd like to see the story go?**

 **REST ASSURED - Larry wont be around for very much longer at all.**

 **Thank you**

* * *

Piper Chapman rose slowly from her bed on the morning of the 5th September. As she planted both feet on the floor beside the bed, a small smirk crept upon her face as she realised what day it was. Today was the day that she would return to her old high school in order to begin the next chapter in her life. She still couldn't quite believe that on this exact day 4 weeks ago she received the phone call which would begin to shape her near future…

 _Piper was sat alongside her best friend of 15 years, Polly Harper. Having just finished at college, the blonde thought it would be a good idea for the two of them to catch up over some coffee at a local cafe down the road._

" _Pol…" Piper sighed._

" _Look Pipes, you've done all you can. Quit stressing." Polly tried to reassure her friend._

" _I'm just worried that none of these schools think I'm qualified enough or have enough experience to carry out my dream job.. Maybe I should-" Piper rambled on._

 _Polly cut her off. "Maybe you should just chill out, you've only just finished college" After a pause she started again. "Have a year to yourself, go travelling or something, you have the rest of your life to work!" She threw her hands up in the air._

 _Piper frowned and was taken back by the tone that her best friend had used with her. Although Piper knew that Polly was right, she wanted this badly for many reasons. Of course she wanted to get a teaching job because it was her passion, but one part of her wanted to get the job to please her mother. Everyone knew that Carol Chapman was a WASP who wanted nothing but success for her children, but if their lives didn't go down the route that the woman had planned... there would be hell to pay._

 _Just as the blonde was going to continue complaining, her phone began to vibrate against the hardwood of the table._

" _Who is it?" Asked the quizzical brunette._

" _Um... I don't recognise the number, they're probably trying to sell me something" Piper rolled her eyes and threw her phone back down on the table._

" _Answer it Piper you never know!"_

 _After a long delay, Piper picked up the device but the ringing died down just as she hovered her thumb over the green accept button._

" _Too late now... They will ring back if it's important" Piper tried to reason._

" _You'll be kicking yourself if it was about a job..."_

 _Piper threw her head into her hands. She had been stressing for several weeks now about getting a job. Just having finished college and getting her major in the subject she loved the most, she couldn't wait to get into a teaching job and give other students a chance to excel in the subject and pass on her own knowledge. However, things hadn't been so plain sailing. The blonde applied for many jobs across the city but only heard back from a handful. These high schools either told the blonde that she weren't exactly what they were looking for right then or they didn't respond to her application at all._

 _Just as the blonde was going to reply to Polly, an alert showed on her phone which notified her of a voicemail._

 _Thinking nothing of it, she swiped across to open the voicemail to see who the mystery caller had been._

" _Hello, this is Alex Vause, I'm calling to speak to a Miss Piper Chapman about the application to become the new English teacher starting in September. I have received your resume and would like to offer you an interview as soon as possible so that I can get the position filled in before the start of the new year. If you are still interested, please call back stating you would like to speak to Nicky Nicholls. Thank you for your time."_

 _On that note the voicemail beeped and signalled the end of the message._

" _POLLY IVE GOT AN INTERVIEW!" The young Chapman screeched._

* * *

The blonde was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of an incoming text message. She wandered over to the dressing table situated in the corner of the room to see who had text her so early in the morning. Piper began to smile as she began to read the message.

 **Good luck for today hun, go smash it and show them what you are made of!  
P.S. Drinks on me tonight so you can tell me all about your first day  
P XX**

Piper also noticed a second message which had been received during the night which stated.  
 **"GL today sis. Proud of U. Cal X"**

After reading Cal's text, she couldn't seem to wipe the smile from her face. Family meant everything to Piper and knowing she had made her younger brother proud was something very special to her.

She wrote a quick reply of thanks to her best friend and brother before planning her outfit for the day ahead. As she opened her wardrobe doors, she began to flick through the clothes on the hangers until she could find something suitable to wear.

The blonde debated whether to wear a trouser suit or a dress/skirt. She sauntered over to the window, pulling the curtains open wide so she could check on the weather for the day ahead. Seeing that the glorious sunshine was radiating through, she settled on a summery dress and a killer pair of heels.

"Smart, Sexy, Sophisticated." She thought to herself.

As she quickly applied some light makeup, she heard her boyfriend of 2 years begin to stir in the bed at the other side of the room. A groan of pleasure could be heard as she saw Larry's reflection in the mirror, stretching out peacefully.

Slipping on a jacket and picking up all of her bits and bobs she would need for the day ahead and throwing them into her bag, she walked quietly over to the bed and leaned over to kiss Larry good bye. "mmm" Larry mumbled as he tried to pull the blonde back down to the bed.  
"Not today Lar, big day remember." She began to pull away before Larry shot up suddenly.

"Oh Pipes, I forgot." Placing another kiss on her lips. "Good luck." And another "Let me know how it goes." And a final kiss.

She whispered a quick thank you before heading out of the door.

Her mind drifted away as she began to think about her relationship with Larry. He was a good man, everyone knew that. His heart was in the right place but Piper just wasn't sure if a simple, good man such as Larry was what she wanted anymore. She knew that just being with Larry was enough to keep peace between her and her mother which is the main reason the relationship has lasted so long. The blonde had long thought that he didn't have much to offer her, he had a publishing job at a small local company, 9-5 Monday to Friday, raising barely enough funds to put food on the table and pay for the bills. Part of the reason Piper couldn't wait to begin this new adventure was so that she would start earning her own money. Quite frankly, she had had enough of living out of the pockets of the Bloom's.

For a while she had craved a new way of life. One where she can go to new places, try new things and eat as many different kinds of food as possible. Of course this was a dream that many people held but Piper was determined to make this happen. The first step to achieving this though was starting her new job and earning some money.

Shaking her head slowly, she brought herself back to the present moment.

The blonde opened up her bag and fumbled around in search for her keys. She quickly located them and pressed the unlock button. Throwing her bag into the passenger seat as she got behind the wheel, she turned the engine on and began her journey to her new workplace.

* * *

Driving through the tall, steel gates at the entrance of the school, her mind began to flood back to her youth. Piper could remember walking through the very car park that she had just pulled in to and walking the same, short journey to the reception. On the walk past the various school buildings, she began to think about all of her old school friends and wondered where each of them were today, wondering about the things they had achieved since leaving. She remembered all of the school teachers she had through each of the 7 years she spent at the school, thinking about all of the stories, knowledge and advice they had filled her with. The blonde knew she owed a lot to her past teachers as they gave their absolute all to help her get to where she wanted to be in life. She couldn't help but wonder if any of them were still here so that she could go and see them to thank them personally. At that moment, the young chapman couldn't help but burst with pride about how far she had come from the last time she had stepped foot in the school.

Upon opening the reception doors, she was greeted with that all too familiar smell of the school she knew and loved. Piper couldn't help but just stand there for a few seconds inhaling and exhaling. Any passers-by would have thought she were crazy but Piper had dreamt of this moment for years and she was willing to take in every second of this opportunity that she could.

Sat behind a large wooden oak desk in the centre of the room was a petit brunette, sporting light eye makeup and bright red lipstick. The woman was perched behind a computer, completely focused on her task at hand. The blonde walked as slowly and quietly as she could in order to not disturb the brunette and make her lose train of thought.

Several minutes later the brunette looked up with the biggest smile on her face. "Welcome to Litchfield High, what can I help you with today?" Piper couldn't help but pick up on the thick accent belonging to the woman sat in front of her, trying to place where the woman could be from.

Returning the smile Piper stated. "Hi, Piper Chapman… New English teacher!"

With that, the brunette stood up immediately and held out a hand for the blonde to shake.

"Lorna Morello… Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise" The blonde replied.

"So... erm Miss Chapman, I will just get Alex, I won't be a moment"

Without giving the blonde time to reply, Lorna scurried off quickly through some double doors situated behind her. Piper sported a confused expression as she wondered who Alex was. After racking her brain for thirty seconds or so, she remembered that time several weeks ago when a miss Alex Vause had left her the voicemail.

Two minutes later, the petite brunette returned followed by a woman with the hair which she could only describe as a "wild mane". She remembered this woman from her interview – Nicky Nicholls.

Nicky came bouncing towards her, enveloping her in a hug.

"Sup Blondie... Welcome!" Nicky said.

Shaking her off, Piper offered her a smile and said, "Yeah… erm thanks"

"What's up blondie? You didn't seem this nervous in our interview." Nicky gave a small wink.

Just then the most gorgeous woman that Piper had ever laid eyes on entered the room through the same double doors that the other pair had just entered via. The woman had long raven black hair flowing down past her shoulders and she was sporting the most sexy secretary glasses she had ever seen. Allowing herself to take all of the woman standing before her, Piper glanced further down and saw that she was wearing a pristine white blouse, exposing a small amount of cleavage. The blonde couldn't help herself and bit down on her lip as she continued to gaze even further. She followed down from the cleavage to a black skirt which pulled the woman's hips in, making her body look unbelievable. Piper continued and viewed the full length of the legs and settled on the woman's black heels. An involuntary response in Piper's brain caused her to lick her lips as her eyes travelled back up the length of the woman's body before resting back on the piercing green eyes before her.

"See something you like?" A smirk crept up on the woman's face before raising an eyebrow.

The blonde realised she had been caught in the act and could feel her cheeks getting redder and redder. She simply shook her head and stared at the floor as if it were the most fascinating thing in the room at that moment.

The raven haired woman spoke again. "Alex Vause" She stated whilst chuckling and adding. "You must be Piper Chapman".

"WOW" was Pipers first thought. She could easily place this as the voice she had heard from the voicemail but she couldn't quite grasp how raspy it was until now and god she found it sexy. Looking up, the blonde could see that Alex had held a hand out in order for her to shake.

She reached her arm right out to touch Alex's. At that moment when the two hands collided together there was a sudden jerk and Piper pulled her hand away as if she had placed it on a hot stove.

"Everything ok blondie?" Nicky asked confused.

Piper also looking confused, just stared at Alex wondering if she had felt it too. If she were to explain it, it would be like being struck by lightning. She couldn't fathom what she had just felt but she knew that it's not something that occurs every time she shakes a stranger's hand. Alex's expression was unreadable at the time and Piper knew she had to say something.

"Yeah... erm yeah sorry about that" She gave a small smile.

Nicky seemed to dismiss the action fairly quickly by waggling her eyebrows at Alex and stating "told you she was a hot one didn't I?"

The young Chapman's eyes shot up to Nicky as if to say "WTF" but then she heard that raspy laugh again and she could've just melted right where she was.

At that moment Lorna raised her arm and punched Nicky's arm. "OUCH!" Nicky shouted out. "What was that for?"

"Behave yourself." Lorna replied simply and offered a slight smirk.

Alex spoke up again before turning on her heel, "Follow me Miss Chapman"

* * *

Piper couldn't help but admire the confidence which Alex possessed. They walked through the double doors which led them onto quite a lengthy corridor. Alex walked a couple of paces in front of the blonde to which she was not complaining at all. Piper thought the view was absolutely stunning and she had seen nothing like it before. Alex had the most amazing ass and Piper was not ashamed to admit it.

Piper continued to walk until she hit something.

"Woah, easy there kid." Alex reached out to steady Piper.

The blonde blushed as she realised she was too caught up in the moment, appreciating the older woman's body to realise that she had already stopped walking.

"Sorry" she whispered quietly.

As she looked up she noticed that they were stood outside an office which had the sign "MISS A VAUSE – HEAD TEACHER".  
Alex pushed down on the door handle and led them both inside.

Both taking their seats at opposing sides of the desk, Alex began to speak.

"So Piper Chapman... tell me a little bit about yourself"

"Urm… So I grew up with my mom, dad and two brothers. I came to this school myself and fell in love with English so I decided to pursue that which is why I went on to Smith to major in it and here I am. This is my absolute dream job and I just want to thank you so much for giving me this chan-" Piper looked up to see Alex smirking at her.

"Sorry am I rambling?" The blonde sighed in realisation.

Alex reached over and placed a hand on the blonde's lower arm. Smirking she stated, "Kid… you've got the job, relax… you don't need to impress me anymore than you already have."

With that Piper smiled and offer an apology.

"And stop apologising!"

"Sorry! Oh my god… sorry..."

Alex let out a low laugh. "Let's get you started Piper Chapman."

* * *

"And there we have it… Here is your very own classroom Miss Chapman" Alex said with a wink.

"You know Alex, there was no need for a tour... I know this place like the back of my hand" Piper replied with a genuine smile.

"Just trying to get you settled in kid" Alex paused. "So, I'll leave you to it. You've got everything you need. If you've got any problems then there is the full directory of staff email addresses on the system or you can come see either me or Nicky if I'm not available – she's my wing woman." Alex laughed at the end statement.

"Thank you Alex…" Piper hugged Alex. The hug seemed to last for so long but neither woman minded. They eventually pulled away before smiling and the raven haired woman turned on her heel to exit the room.

Piper slumped down in her desk chair and took in the surroundings before her. Not quite being able to come to terms that this is classroom is hers. Her own space where she can carry out the teaching of her beloved English. She sighed and it was one of pure joy and relief.

As the first day back is always a training day, this means that there are no students around at all. These days give teachers the time to "decorate" their own classrooms and plan for their upcoming lessons that week. For the first two hours of that morning Piper spent a good amount of time printing out posters and pinning them up on the wall alongside famous quotes from her favourite authors. She spent a good amount of time picking out her favourite books and arranging them along the bookshelf provided in her classroom.

Feeling content with the way that her new classroom looked, she began to sort through the paperwork strewn on her desk. Once she had looked through her timetable and class lists she picked them up in order to file them away in the cabinet when a small note dropped out from the middle.

Bending down to receive the note, she flipped it over and her heart fluttered when she read who it was from. **"Drinks tonight? – Litchfield tradition on 1** **st** **day. AV x"**

Piper wasn't too sure why her heart had fluttered in the way that it did when she read the note but she knew that it could only be a positive thing. Struggling to keep herself from smiling she thought how she could let Alex know that she would definitely be up for drinks tonight. She considered going through to Alex's office herself but she didn't want to seem too eager so she opted for a simple email.

 _TO:_ ALEX VAUSE

 _FROM: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 **Hi, Just to let you know I'll be coming tonight X**

Hitting the send button and closing the email, realisation suddenly dawned on her. Piper had said she would go for drinks with Polly tonight. The blonde didn't want to let her best friend down nor did she want to cancel on her colleagues, especially on her first day. She decided to give Polly a call.

"Hey Pol, listen about tonight"

"You better not be cancelling on me Piper Chapman"

"No, it's not tha-"

"Ok, good so, how's the first day been?"

"Pol! Will you just listen please?" There was silence on the other end so Piper continued. "Look, today has been good so far, but the real test will be tomorrow when the kids come in… Anyway, I may or may not have already agreed to go out with my work colleagues tonight"

"Piper…" Polly moaned in frustration.

"I want you to come with me though"

"I don't know pipes..."

"Please! I want my best friend to meet my colleagues"

"Do you have any hot colleagues?"

"Yes I have hot colleagues" Piper smirked knowing full well who she was talking about.

"Ok so bring me a single hot man and I will join you"

"YES! I'll text you the details later. Thanks Pol"

"Bye Pipes"

Ending the call, Piper checked her email to see if Alex had replied. Seeing that she hadn't, she began to type out another email.

 _TO:_ ALEX VAUSE

 _FROM: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 **PS – Got any hot men coming? X**

Within seconds of sending that email she noticed that Alex had replied.

 _TO: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 _FROM: ALEX VAUSE_

 **Great! Will let u know details later**

 **PS – And I thought I had you all figured out…  
Yes, there will be males attending.**

Reading that email, Piper couldn't quite figure out what Alex had meant by having her all figured out. She tapped a quick reply back and closed the email down.

 _TO:_ ALEX VAUSE

 _FROM: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 **It's for a friend. Thanks Al X**

From a very young age, Piper knew that she liked girls just as much as she did boys. Upon meeting Alex earlier on in the morning, she had a feeling within herself that she wanted to get to know the older woman much better. This thought alone made her very excited for the night ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's Chapter 2, Let me know what you think!**

* * *

The rest of the school day seem to fly by. Piper kept herself to herself for the most part. She carried out any work that needed to be done in preparation for the following days and was ready to depart for home when the bell rang indicating the end of the day. Before leaving, she quickly checked her email to see that Alex had responded with the details of the night ahead. The blonde noted them down, turned the computer off and headed for the exit.

Later that night, the sound of knocking on the door rung through the apartment. "That will be Polly" Piper thought. She rushed to the door in order to greet her friend.

"Hey Pipes" Polly greeted.

"Hi!" Piper ushered her best friend in.

Polly settled her things down beside the couch before enveloping the blonde in a hug.

"So" The brunette started. "I was promised hot guys tonight"

"That you were" Piper giggled. Smirking, she continued "Alex has it sorted"

"Who's Alex then?" Polly questioned all too aware of the smirk on Piper's face.

"Just the head teacher at Litchfield"

"And does this certain head teacher know you have the hots for him?" Polly raised an eyebrow.

"Pol… Alex is a woman and I don't have the hots for anyone. I'm with Larry remember."

"Ohhhhh… a woman" Polly had the biggest grin. "Hasn't stopped you before has it pipes?"

Piper began blushing. The brunette noticed this and thought she would push a bit further.

"You're as red as a tomato piper! That tells me you certainly have the hots for said Alex."

"I do not!" Piper tried to defend

"Piper, I know you... especially when it comes to matters of the heart" Polly shot back.

With a slight giggle, Piper "Don't be ridiculous Pol, she's gonna be there tonight. You'll see there's nothing in it"

"Whatever you say P" Polly simply replied. "Come on, we had better get ready!"

A rattling of keys and a fumbling in the lock startled the pair.

"Honey I'm ho-" Larry began to sing.

"Oh hey pipes" said Larry, leaning in to give her a kiss.

"Polly" He nodded his head in her direction as if to say hello before continuing, "I didn't realise we'd have company tonight"

"Yeah… erm actually we're going out" Piper said.

"What? Since when? Larry questioned, taking a seat on the couch.

"Since Polly asked me this morning and then a few colleagues asked as well this afternoon. Its tradition apparently"

"Right" He nodded. "Well do you think I can come? I mean, I don't want to be stuck in the house all night by myself?"

"No!" Piper stated, a bit too abruptly.

Polly shot her a look as if to tell her to choose her words carefully.

"I mean… erm, its colleagues only." Piper tried her best to find a reason.

"But Polly is go-" Larry began.

"No, what she meant was" Polly turned in her seat to face the older man. "Its women only… you wouldn't want to be the only male there would you Larry?"

He scrunched his face up, "No, I guess not."

Piper lets out a sigh of relief which didn't go unnoticed by her best friend. She mouthed the words "thank you" to the brunette, to which she offered a small, knowing smile back.

Standing up and stretching out, Larry said, "Im gonna get a shower and call it an early night." Kissing Piper on the forehead he wished them a good night and exited the room.

When Polly looked back in Pipers direction, she noticed that the blonde was wearing a confused expression. "What's wrong p?"

Piper sighed, "He didn't even ask me how my first day was?!"  
"I just get the impression that he doesn't care"

"He's probably just tired pipe" Polly tried to reason.

"No! I'm tired. I'm tired of him and his boring ways. I'm tired of this pathetic life!" Piper was getting really worked up now.

Polly moved over and embraced the blonde in a long hug. "Hun, I know you haven't been happy for so long now." She waited a few minutes before saying, "If this life isn't what you want… go out and get the one that you do want"

The blonde began to nod. "You're so right Polly."  
"This is why you're my best friend. Thank you!"

"Enough of him anyway, I've only come for the hot guys so let me get ready! I need to look my best" Polly winked.

They pulled apart and began to get ready for their night out. Piper called a cab for the two of them and reeled off the address to the driver before settling down in their seats.

"I want you to have fun tonight pipes. You deserve it ok" Polly said.

Smiling, Piper simply replied "ok"

* * *

Stepping out from the taxi on to the pavement in the warm summers evening, Piper could hear an annoyingly loud wolf whistle. Turning around to identify the culprit, she found it was no other than her new work colleague, Nicky Nicholls. Piper whispered ever so quietly "brace yourself" to Polly as if to warn the brunette of the other woman's potential behaviour before walking in the direction of the bar.

Nicky couldn't have made it any more obvious that she was checking the two women out. Feeling slightly uncomfortable Polly spoke up. "Eyes up here please"" She waved two fingers in front of her own eyes as if to signify where she wanted the other woman to look.

"Chapman" Nicky nodded in the blonde's direction to greet her. "And who's this fine piece of ass you've brought along?"

"Nicky this is Polly my best friend, Pol this is Nicky" She pointed between the two of them.

"Well… well… well, hello Polly" Nicky dragged her words out as she once again looked over the woman's body that stood before her.

Polly raised her eyebrows in disgust. "Can you stop looking me up and down please like I'm a piece of meat? You're worse than some of the men I've met on nights out"

"Oh so you're not going to be joining me for a game of softball any time soon no? Damn you don't know what you're missing" Chuckling, she continued, "I'm just having a laugh don't get your knickers in a twist"

"Alright, I'll let you buy me a drink to make up for it" Polly gave a sincere smile.

"YES!" Nicky exclaimed. Without a seconds thought, she hooked her arm through Polly's and pulled her through the entrance to the bar. The brunette looked back at Piper with the widest eyes but all the blonde could do was smirk back in response.

Piper knew exactly what Nicky was like from the interview that the other woman had held for her. She came across as wild and very, very forward but it didn't seem to bother Piper in the slightest. Nicky wasn't exactly the type of person that the blonde would usually mix with and if her mother even had a sniff of what she was like, Carol would be straight over to the school giving her daughter the third degree. For as long as Piper had known, she had surrounded herself by the waspy type, just to please her mother, but recently she just started to care less and less. The blonde wanted to broaden her horizons and meet new people so this job was the perfect time to make a start.

Following closely behind the two women, heading in the direction of bar, Piper was stopped in her tracks suddenly as she felt a hand grab on to her arm. Piper's facial expression was one of confusion and shock. Before she had chance to turn around and see who had unexpectedly grabbed her she felt the mystery person's breath tickling her neck ever so lightly. She felt the person lean in to her ear before they whispered "Didn't think you were coming." Piper's body involuntarily shuddered as realisation hit her of who was stood behind her. Alex. She would recognise the raven haired woman's voice anywhere. It was so unique and beautiful and like nothing she had ever heard before. The hair started to rise on the back of the blonde's neck and goose pimples were beginning to form. Alex didn't fail to notice before blowing gently on the smaller woman's neck and lent in to whisper again. "Is this the effect I have on you Piper?"

Piper began to blush as she realised how easily she could become undone just by the feeling of Alex's breath and the sound of the taller woman's voice. She turned on the spot to face her boss and looked down to still find Alex's hand around her arm. Gently pulling her arm away so that she could regain control of it, she got to the point where the two women were hand in hand. Just as the blonde was about to bring her own arm back down to her side, she felt the grip on her own hand tighten. Piper looked up at Alex with a small smile and asked, "Are you drunk?"

"No, not even close…. Do I need to be?" Alex raised an eyebrow with a cocky look about her.

Piper didn't answer the taller woman, smiling to herself she simply turned on her heel and walked in the direction of the bar. Alex followed behind closely before ordering another round of drinks for the whole workforce and led the pair of them back to the table which their colleagues and friends currently housed.

Settling down at the table, the blonde noticed that her best friend was also present. Polly looked in deep conversation with Litchfield's head PE teacher Pete. Piper could tell almost instantaneously that the brunette was flirting. She was playing with her hair in a not so subtle way and laughing at every single joke that the Australian gave out. Piper felt pleased with herself that she took on the role of cupid tonight. A man was just what Polly needed to keep herself occupied and off the blonde's back constantly. Piper loved her best friend to pieces but there was only so much of Polly's loneliness that the blonde could take.

Many conversations and drinks later with her new colleagues, Piper saw Pete get up to leave the table and head in the direction of the bathroom. She thought this would be a perfect opportunity to have a break and drag Polly to the side so they could discuss the evening so far. Making eye contact with her best friend, she mouthed the word bathroom and got up from the table hoping that the brunette would follow.

Polly walked into the bathroom several seconds later and lent against the sink. She threw her head back. "Oh…. My…. God….." She exclaimed.

"He is actually perfect Piper."

"Pol your flirting is about as subtle as being hit in the face with a brick"

Polly rolled her eyes before giggling. "I think I really like him Piper… Like, reaaaaaaally like him"  
"Have you seen him?!"

Piper chuckled "That's good, I'm happy for you. So you're going to see each other again?"

"Of course!" Polly responded. "I mean I know it's only been a couple of hours but I feel like I've known him for years"

Piper nodded before looking down at her feet.

Polly noticed a sad look in the blonde's eyes and began to dig deeper.

"Now why do you look so sad? I thought we came to have fun tonight"

"We did bu-"

"No buts Pipes, I've seen that Alex chick and well…. Let's just say I'm not going to hold you back from going for that one"

"Really? You don't thi-"

"What are you looking so worried about? Is it Larry?" Polly cut her off.

Piper sighed in response.

"I knew it! Piper, if this is something you want to pursue, why let boring old Larry stop you?"

"I don't even know if she l-"

"You know… she hasn't taken her eyes off you all night? I may have been wrapped up in Pete but I still noticed"

"Can you stop cutting me-"

"Shhhh, you seriously talk too much sometimes Pipes. Now get out there, find Alex and have some fun!"

Before Piper even knew what was happening, she felt herself being pushed towards the exit of the bathroom and back towards the table that they were sat at previously. Glancing back at the table, Piper allowed herself to take in Alex's look for the very first time that night. The raven haired woman wore a low cut, figure hugging red dress and a pair of heels to match. Alex looked stunning and Piper knew it. For the second time that day she found herself biting her lip, just admiring the older woman's beauty.

"Fuck it" she thought to herself. Piper confidently strutted over to Alex and took her by the hand. She led them both to the dance floor and that is where they remained for the rest of the night. They danced all night, so closely and even grinding on each other at one point. At that minute they were both in a little bubble, and nobody could pop it.

* * *

Piper awoke the next morning with a thumping headache. She'd always been a lightweight and knew her limits but she got so wrapped up in the events of the night before that her level of alcohol consumption had been the last thing on her mind.

With a slight struggle she managed to open both eyes with a bit of help from her hands shielding the light pouring through the gap in the curtains. Piper sat up as slowly and carefully as she could before getting up from the bed and going on the hunt for some much needed pain killers. On her walk through the apartment she spotted her boyfriend sat at the kitchen table staring in to space. She watched him for thirty seconds or so and noticed that he didn't flinch once. The blonde moved quietly into the kitchen and around the table as to not startle him. Once she was in a position where she could see the front of him, she spotted him holding a small note, passing it between his hands at such a slow pace. Seeing as he still hadn't looked up at Piper, she decided to speak up.

"Everything ok Lar? You're awfully quiet"

"I don't know Piper… is everything ok?" He spat back, finally looking up at the blonde.

"What… what do you mean?" She moved over now so that she was standing by his side.

He held up the note in his hand for Piper to take. "I found this. Hanging out of your purse on the table… Care to explain?"

Piper couldn't have been any more confused if she had tried. She had no idea about any note being left in her purse. She took the note from Larry's hand and her stomach dropped as she read it to herself.

 **Piper,**

 **I can't help but have to repeat myself and tell you how beautiful you looked tonight. I had a great time, I'm glad you came.**

 **AV**

Trying her best to mask the smile threatening to make an appearance on her face, she could sense Larry's eyes burning right through her. As much as Piper could kill Alex for dropping her right in the shit, she should probably thank her. Piper knew that she and Larry needed to speak about their relationship and this note gave her the best platform to start that conversation off.

"Larry…." Piper sighed.

The blonde could see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Are you cheating on me? Who's AV?!"

"I can't explain right now I've got to go to work but we need to talk when I get back ok?"

"Piper!" Larry banged his hands against the table in frustration. "I need to know. Are you cheating on me?"

Piper gulped. She had never seen an angry Larry before. He was normally always calm and collected and she didn't want to stick around for much longer to let this escalate.

"No." She placed a hand on his shoulder. Looking him dead in the eye she said "I promise you, I am not cheating on you. We need to talk when I get back from work and that's that." With that she turned away and began to get ready for work.

* * *

Piper logged in to her computer so that she could check her emails before she began teaching for the day. Just as she was waiting for the computer to finish loading she heard an alert sound from her phone signalling that she had received a text. Unlocking the home screen she opened it up to read:

 **Sorry for jumping to conclusions, I hope and trust that there is a simple explanation for this note and all can be forgotten. I will be waiting at home for you when you finish work. I love you – Larry**

Although Piper didn't lie to Larry when she told him she wasn't cheating on him, she still felt really guilty inside. The guilt was there because she knew that her heart didn't lie with Larry any longer. Ever since setting eyes on Alex, the blonde knew that there was something between them that she needed to figure out but that was not something she could do while still being in a relationship. Piper knew that deep down she shouldn't be feeling any guilt whatsoever because she hadn't been happy within her relationship with her boyfriend but the only feeling that hits her when she thinks about telling Larry is dread.

Reading that text message from Larry made Piper feel incredibly anxious.

"Earth to Piper"

The blonde jumped out of her seat as she quickly left her thoughts and was brought back to reality.  
She was suddenly aware of two female presences stood beside her classroom door. However, she only recognised one of them and it was the person who had been on her mind for the majority of the morning, Alex.

"Sorry, I was deep in thought" Piper tried her best to offer a smile but failed miserably. She looked genuinely sad and this fact didn't go unnoticed by Alex.

The two women stood in front of her smiled before Alex spoke up again.

"So there has just been a meeting for all of the Heads of Department and I realised that you were yet to meet the Head of English as she wasn't around yesterday." Alex gestured towards Sylvia.

The woman that was once stood next to Alex had strode over towards the blonde and offered a hand out "Sylvia, nice to meet you"

"Piper… and you" she smiled genuinely.

There was something about the way that Sylvia carried herself and acted that put Piper off her almost immediately but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"As HoD we will be meeting fortnightly to discuss pupil progress and any targets/aims you want to run by me that you might want to set out to achieve and things like that." Sylvie directed this at Piper before turning to Alex.

"Alex may even join us sometimes to just make sure everything is running smoothly, isn't that right babe?"

At hearing the word "babe" Piper's eyes shot up and she looked directly at Alex. Piper felt a pang of jealousy and she had no right to. She couldn't understand why she felt this way, she barely knew Alex and she had no idea what was going on between her and Sylvie, or if anything was going on at all.

Alex rolled her eyes before gesturing towards the door. "Yes so I can take it from here thanks Sylvia." Alex was annoyed that Sylvia called her babe. She could sense the uncertainty in Piper's eyes and she couldn't get the woman away quick enough in order to explain. Of course, there was no need for any kind of explanation because there was nothing going on between Piper and her but the feeling was still there.

Sylvia soon left the two of them alone and Alex let out a shaky sigh of relief. She propped herself up against one of the student desks before stretching her legs out.

Alex looked directly into Piper's eyes and the blonde was staring right back at her. Alex could still sense a hint of sadness and remembered the look on the younger woman's face when she entered the classroom a few minutes earlier.

"Are you ok? You were miles away when we walked in."

"Just a lot on my mind really." Piper replied.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

The blonde seemed to think about it for several minutes before speaking out again.  
"My boyfriend found your note" She began chuckling.

Alex's eyes went wide. "Piper… I didn't know… Sorry I wouldn't have put it in there if I would have known."

Piper tried to reassure her. "No, honestly its fine… you kind of did me a favour."

"I did?"

"Yeah… I mean it's just not what I want any more so…"

"Oh right"

The room was filled with an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before Piper spoke.

"So… you and Sylvie?"

"There is no me and Sylvie"

"There isn't?"

"No, well… not anymore anyway. Not for a long time"

"Oh" Piper smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" Alex reciprocated the smile.

"Nothing"

"Ok… well I'll let you get prepared for your first classes." Alex stood up straight from the table and wished Piper good luck before winking and leaving the classroom.

* * *

The rest of the day ran as smoothly as Piper could have wished. Her classes were really easy and went along with no disruptions which she was ever so thankful for. Due to having no free time today, the blonde didn't get to see Alex for the rest of the day since their encounter this morning and she would be lying if she said she weren't sad about that. There was nothing more that the blonde wanted to do than go and visit Alex in her office and let her know how successful her first actual day of teaching went. But, she decided against it. Piper didn't want to seem too eager to see Alex and knew that she didn't have time to waste staying late after work. As soon as her last class had exited the room, she began to pack up her things and make her way to the car park. She knew that now was the time that she had to face Larry and end things for good. She knew it wouldn't be easy but this is something that she just had to do.

Upon entering the apartment she took her shoes and coat off and placed them by the door in their respective places. The blonde knew that Larry would be waiting for her and she had never felt so anxious in her life. Piper found Larry sat on the couch watching television. She stood in the doorway for a couple of minutes and thought about what she was about to do. "The calm before the storm" she thought to herself. Piper took a few steps into the room before she came into Larry's line of sight.

Larry didn't speak but he turned the television off as to acknowledge the fact that he was no longer alone in the room. Piper sat down on the opposing couch in order to give them a bit of space.

"So…." Piper dragged out.

Larry sniffled. Piper gathered that he must have been crying long before she came home. "How do you want to do this?" he replied.

"What do you want to know?"

"The most important question of all…. Who's AV?"

Piper gulped. She knew that it was best to be straight up rather than create a whole web of lies.

"Alex Vause, she's my boss. The head teacher at Litch"

A huge sigh of relief could be heard coming from Larry's direction. Piper looked on with furrowed brows.

"There's no other man" He said out loud. Letting out yet another sigh of relief.

"Of course there isn't another man… I'm not that kind of person" Piper snapped.

Silence filled the air, neither one of them knowing what to say.

Piper couldn't take it anymore and knew she needed to get all of her feelings out now.

"Larry, I need to put all of my cards out on the table…"

"Go on pipes."

Piper released a shaky breath before starting, "Larry, I can't do this anymore… This, is not what I want."

Larry didn't say anything so she took that as her cue to carry on.

"I need more out of life. This relationship is far from exciting. I want to try new things and meet new people but I can't while I'm stuck in this relationship. The days are far too repetitive and it's boring me to my wits end."

A single cheek rolled down Larry's face. "I thought we were good together"

"We were… but not anymore… I can't continue living like this and especially living out of your parents pockets."

"But that won't be for-"

Piper knew that Larry was desperate to speak now but she couldn't let him. She needed to get everything off her chest while she had the chance.

"You don't know that it won't be forever Larry, your job isn't stable. You barely bring enough home to put food on the table some months. I refuse to live like this."

"Pipes can't we make it work?" Larry was pleading.

"My heart just isn't in it…"

"Please Piper…. I love you"

"I'm sorry Larry" On that note Piper left the room and made her way to the bedroom. The blonde couldn't stand to be in the apartment any longer and so began packing her things up.

After several failed attempts by Larry to unpack Piper's belongings and beg for her to stay, she placed her bags in the boot of her car and set off on her journey to Polly's apartment.

* * *

Several hours later, Piper plonked down on the brunettes couch. She let out a huge sigh of relief.

"What. A. Day"

"How you feeling Pipes?"

"I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It was a long time coming… As much as Larry is a good man, I couldn't keep living that way"

"What do you think Carol will say?"

Piper threw her hands in the air and stated "Who cares?"

Polly began chuckling. "That's the attitude I love to see from you p"

Piper's phone vibrated on the table below to notify her of an incoming text message.

 _From: Unknown_

 _Hope today went well, I was hoping to catch up with you but I was busy with meetings. – AV_

Piper's heart swelled as she read the message. She loved that Alex had been thinking about her.

 _To: Alex_

 _How did you get my number? Today was very successful thanks._

The blonde didn't have to wait long before she received a reply.

 _From: Alex:_

 _School system duh ;) Maybe you could tell me all about it over drinks tomorrow._

Piper debated what to reply next. She wasn't sure whether Alex meant the two of them or if the workforce would be going out again. The blonde figured she would play safe rather than assume.

 _To: Alex_

 _I'd love for us all to go out again. I really enjoyed it last time!_

Alex replied within seconds.

 _From: Alex_

 _I meant just the two of us but if you'd rather I invite other people, I can do so?_

Piper could not stop the smile that was on her face at that minute. There was nothing more she'd love to do than just go out for a drink with Alex.

 _To: Alex_

 _The two of us is fine. Looking forward to it ;)_

The blonde's confidence levels had been boosted so she threw a flirty wink in there.

 _From: Alex_

 _Great. Won't be in work tomorrow. Will text you the details about drinks in the morning._

 _Good night Piper Chapman x_

 _To: Alex_

 _Good night Alex Vause x_

Being so wrapped up in texting Alex, the blonde completely forgot that Polly was still in the room. She was brought out of her thoughts by Polly. "What's gotten you so smiley?"

"That was Alex, she wants to go for drinks tomorrow. Just the two of us"

"A DATE?" Polly squealed.

"I wouldn't call it a date…"

"IM SO EXCITED FOR YOU" Polly was bouncing up and down.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's Chapter 3! I'd just like to thank everyone for their follows, favourites and reviews so far. Having not written anything before it fills me with a bit of confidence that I'm doing an ok job at least? Let me know what you think :)**

* * *

As the cab came to a halt at the side of the street, Piper hit the home button on her phone to check the time. 18:59 the screen read. "Just on time" she thought. Pulling out some cash to hand to the driver, she mumbled for him to keep the change and pulled the lever on the door to step out.

A wave of nervousness washed right through the blonde's body. Ever since she had woken up that morning and allowed herself to think about tonight, she couldn't seem to shake that feeling from the pit of her stomach. As far as she knew, this was just two friends meeting up for a couple of drinks. The blonde didn't want to assume that this was a date but she would be lying to herself if she said there wasn't a small bit of hope somewhere that wanted it to be. The minute she laid eyes on Alex she felt something and just knew that she had to look into whatever this feeling was. Piper hoped and prayed that Alex felt it too, their close dancing together two nights previous felt like a semi-confirmation for the blonde, so when she received the text from the older woman the night before, Piper couldn't wipe the massive grin from spreading right across her face.

* * *

The first trait which came to anybody's mind when they thought of Alex Vause was her confidence. It absolutely radiated out of her. The confidence which she had upheld for many years helped her across all aspects of her life. Being confident within herself allowed her to carry out her job role very effectively. Nobody at Litchfield High disrespected Alex, if anything, people were scared of her. Both staff members and students held her in such high regard and that is the main reason for the school's success rate ever since she had taken over three years ago. As well as being confident in her job, Alex was confident when it came to women. She was never really the relationship type but if her best friend Nicky gave her a challenge on a night out to bed a woman – single, taken, straight or not, she would bite her hand off at the challenge and complete it successfully.

So, with that being said the older woman couldn't explain the feelings that she had within her. Upon meeting the new English teacher on Monday morning she felt an instant attraction which was something very rare to her, Alex was almost definitely the kind of woman to fuck and chuck.

Leaving notes for another woman was definitely not her style but seeing the reaction the blonde had to the raven haired woman's gestures, Alex felt the need to follow this situation up further. The realisation of that is the moment that she dug through the files on her laptop to locate Piper's number. She needed to figure out what was going on in her mind and she knew that the only way she could do that was if she could spend some alone time with the blonde and get to know her.

And that is where she found herself, two nights after meeting the blonde for the first time, she was sat waiting in a secluded booth at the back of a bar waiting for her colleague to arrive. 7pm struck and Alex blew out a shaky breath, she knew that Piper would be present any moment as she tried to swallow down the lump forming in her throat. She waved a waiter over and ordered their finest bottle of red wine and two glasses and asked for this to be brought over for the pair as soon as the blonde arrived.

Several minutes later, a blonde flash of hair could be seen at the entrance of the bar. Alex strained her neck a little so that she could gain a better view of the woman entering the bar. A slight smirk crept upon her face as she recognised Piper. Noticing the blonde looking around the bar with a curious expression on her face, Alex raised from her seat so that she could be spotted and beckoned the younger woman over to join her. As soon as green eyes met blue, the two could not keep their eyes from each other and wore very similar, sizable grins.

The two of them got comfortable in their seats in the booth chosen by Alex when the same waiter from beforehand came by and placed two glasses on the table. He opened up the bottle of red wine purchased by Alex and poured them both a glass each before settling the bottle back on the table. He told them to enjoy their evening before offering a smile and leaving the pair of them to it.

Silence filled the space for a minute or so as they both took a sip of their drink.

"I hope you like red wine, I can order something else if not"

"No, its perfect thank you." Piper reassured.

"So, how are you finding teaching?"

Piper seemed to think for some seconds before deciding on an answer. "Yesterday was an absolute dream." She paused. "Today was challenging"

At that Alex raised an eyebrow in question.

Piper took this as a signal to continue speaking. "Last period, a couple of the boys were messing around. I barely managed to teach anything all lesson before Sylvia came in and rescued me. She sent them out with a detention… I just, I felt a bit useless you know?"

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, nobody said it would be easy." Alex placed her hand on Pipers arm in support. "You're new to this whole thing, you've got to take time to figure it all out"

"Yeah I suppose you're right"

The older woman smirked. "When do you have them next? I'll come in and put them in their place"

"Tomorrow, first period as it goes."

"I'll be there. They just need a little bit of discipline and if they think it's acceptable to continue misbehaving we'll just have to hand out some punishments won't we?"

The pair chuckled together whilst Piper nodded in agreement.

"It will get easier kid, just hang in there"

Alex took another sip of her drink before deciding to change the subject.

"Are things any better with the boyfriend?"

"Actually… I'm not with him anymore"

Alex raised her eyebrows at that. "Oh really?" She tried to hide the smirk threatening to make its way onto her face but she failed miserably.

"Yeah, last night I thought it would be a good time as any after your note, to tell him how I really felt."

"So I saved the day huh?"

Piper rolled her eyes, giggling. "Don't flatter yourself, you merely pushed things along, but I'm very grateful for it"

"Well I'm glad I could be of service Piper Chapman" Alex took a sip of her drink and gave a little wink. Piper could've melted right on the spot. She didn't know whether it was that god damn sexy wink or the use of her full name that urged the feelings she was experiencing right then but she couldn't complain at all.

"How about you? … Are you seeing anyone?" Piper enquired.

Alex gulped. "Nope… I'm completely single, I can't say I'm the relationship type, especially since last time."

"Last time? What happened?"

Alex seemed to ponder her answer for a long time.

"We don't actually have to talk about it you know?"

"It was just between me and Sylvie… we've got a lot of history, you know? Alex took a large gulp of her drink before setting it back down on the table.

The blonde nodded. "So does she still see you two being a thing or…?" Piper didn't want to pry but she couldn't help but try and get to the bottom of the situation with Sylvie. Ever since she called Alex babe in the classroom the day before, it knocked her back a bit and left her with some questions.

"I don't know…" Alex sighed. "It's really complicated"

"Complicated in the sense that you can't see anyone else?"

Alex smirked. "I'm free to do whatever I want Piper."

"Oh that's good." Piper smiled genuinely.

"But I guess it's not relevant because I don't have anybody to see"

"You mean you don't have your eye on anyone at the minute?"

Alex looked right into the blue eyes belonging to Piper and spoke directly to her. "Oh I have my eye on someone" She paused. "I just don't know if they have their eye on me"

Piper began to feel herself blush. She knew exactly who Alex had meant when she said that.

"You seem really interesting you know." Piper picked up the beer mat from the table and began to fiddle with it, showing her nerves. "I'd love to know more about you…"

"Ask away kid"

* * *

The rest of the night appeared to pass like a breeze. The two women had never felt so comfortable in each other's company. By the end of the night, it was like the two of them had known each other for years. They talked about anything and everything in their lives and it seemed as if no stone was unturned. Gentle touches of each other occurred and the odd bit of flirtatious banter but nothing else. The conversation from earlier regarding Alex's interest wasn't brought back up again but she was secretly hoping they would speak about it again at some point. Alex had really enjoyed Piper's company tonight and she was desperate for the blonde to know that she liked her.

Shortly after 10:30pm Piper excused herself in order to go to the bathroom. Alex thought this was a perfect opportunity to leave the blonde yet another note to read. She quickly scribbled on a napkin and placed it in to Piper's jacket pocket before she returned.

Once Piper joined Alex back at the table, they made the mutual decision to call it a night due to having work the next day. Turning to face each other on the street outside, they wished each other good night. Alex lent in for a hug before whispering "I had fun tonight" in to the blonde's ear. With that, the taller woman turned on her heel and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Piper in awe.

* * *

Little after 11pm the blonde stumbled into the apartment as quietly as she could.

"Well I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to be back to give me all the juicy details before I dropped off" Polly was propped up with one arm at the furthest side of the couch closest to the entry way.

"There are no juicy details" Piper smirked.

"I can see right through you Pipes. Sit down and spill" Polly demanded.

"Honestly, there's nothing to say really" She paused while she took a seat. "We just talked about stuff over a few drinks"

"Yeah right, the smirk on your face tells me otherwise"

The blonde leaned her head back on the couch. "Ok so she may have hinted that she likes me"

"OH MY GOD" Polly shrieked. "This is amazing… Did you hint back?"

Piper shook her head in response

"Well why the hell not? She might think you don't like her?"

"Don't worry Pol, I've got this… Now I'm going to sleep, it's been a long ass day" She kissed her best friend on the top of her head before retreating back to the spare room that she was currently occupying.

She shimmied out of the jacket she was wearing, letting it drop to the floor. Looking down she saw a folded up napkin hanging out of the pocket. She bent down to pick it up, knowing full well who would have placed it there. Unfolding the paper she read it to herself.

 _The only person I have my eyes on is a blonde haired, blue eyed female that goes by the name of Piper Chapman. Do you know her?_

God. Alex had such beautiful handwriting, so Piper thought. The blonde folded the napkin up to its original state, smiling to herself like an idiot. She placed the note with the rest that she had received from the older woman. Once comfortable in bed she decided to text Alex before she went to sleep.

 _Funnily enough I do know Piper Chapman. I also happen to know that she has her eyes on a certain Alex Vause._

* * *

Waking up the next morning, Piper was disappointed when she checked her phone and seen that Alex had not replied to her text last night. She shrugged it off and decided that she was just over thinking it. The blonde carried out her morning routine to get ready for work and then headed out to Litchfield High when she was ready. Thinking about the night before, she remembered that Alex had mentioned that she would be paying a visit to her class this morning. With that in mind, the young Chapman went over and over her lesson plan to make sure everything was as it should be. This would be the first time that her teaching would be assessed by anyone in her new workplace and she wasn't ready for her teaching ability to be scrutinised this early on and especially by Alex, so she made sure everything was up to scratch in order to make a good impression.

9am rolled around very quickly and it was signalled by the sound of the school bell flooding the classrooms and corridors around the school. "Here goes" Piper whispered to herself and let out a sigh. The blonde walked over to her classroom door and opened it to usher the students in.

The opening 15 minutes of the first period ran with very few hiccups at all but once Piper had set the students a group task for them to get on with, the misbehaving students of yesterday started back up again. Just as Piper stood up from her desk to go and punish the students, she saw the classroom door being opened from the corner of her eye. The blonde looked up to see no other than Alex Vause stood there. The two women seem to stand and stare at each other for several minutes, each with a matching smile upon their faces. It was as if they had forgotten where they were and it was only Alex and Piper in the room.

The little moment that the pair of them were sharing came to a stop as a book came flying from the back of the classroom to the front. Alex's face which was one of calmness and happiness turned into anger as she identified the student who threw the book. Her eyes narrowed as she pointed at him and shouted "GET OUT HERE… NOW!" The whole class grinded to a halt as everyone looked up and gasped. The student's face was one of shock and horror. It was clear to see that he hadn't noticed Miss Vause standing in the doorway of the classroom. He quickly scrambled to his feet and walked out into the corridor, his face was one of pure embarrassment.

As Alex and the student left the classroom, Piper turned to the rest her class and told them to carry on with their work as quietly as they could. Alex's voice could be heard through the thin walls separating the classroom and the corridor. Piper could distinctly hear the older woman asking the boy if he was the one which obtained a detention the day before to which he nodded. This seemed to make Alex angrier as she asked him why he hadn't learned from his mistakes already and continued with the bad behaviour. After several more minutes of Alex telling the boy off outside, the pair returned to the classroom. The student was red faced and looked to have tears building up in his eyes. He muttered an apology to Piper and settled back down in his seat.

Alex spoke up once again. "Anyone else who thinks they can continue to misbehave in Miss Chapman's lessons can come and see me. She's worked hard to get these fun lessons planned for you… You all know she's new to the job and she could've made you all sit and read a book in silence for the whole lesson but she's trying her best to keep you all occupied. Now I want every single one of you to think about that and the next time I come and visit this lesson I hope for a very different outcome ok?" The whole of the class nodded in agreement.

Piper couldn't help but find the whole ordeal with Alex hot. The way that she managed to grip the attention of the students just by her presence was mesmerising. When she was around it appeared that everyone stopped what they were doing and gave Alex the utmost respect.

The taller woman then turned to Piper and said, "Miss Chapman, can I have a word outside please?"

Alex didn't wait for a response, she simply turned on her heel and walked out of the door.

Once Piper was by her side she thanked Alex for what she had just said.

"I told you I'd come by and sort it out didn't I?" She offered a smile.

"You were great… and it was a little hot I must have to say." Piper began to blush

Alex raised an eyebrow and bit her lip. "I might have to come by and review your lessons more often Miss Chapman"

There was silence before Alex spoke up again.

"Sorry I didn't text you back by the way… I fell asleep and this morning has been really hectic"

"Oh, no it's fine"

"So I was wondering…" Alex swallowed. "Nicky and I are hosting dinner for Lorna tonight and I thought that erm… I mean… would you like to join us?" Alex cursed herself internally as she stumbled. She didn't normally get like this and she found it quite embarrassing.

Piper noticed the stumbling and smirked. "Nicky and Lorna? Is that a thing?"

"Nicky says not, but I think so…" Pause "Avoiding my question?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"You live with Nicky?"

"Yes… unfortunately" …. "Still avoiding my question?"

"No, of course not! I'd love to join you" Piper gave a goofy smile.

The two of them were interrupted by the sound of heels clicking against wooden flooring. They both looked down the corridor to see that Sylvia was approaching with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey Al … Hi Piper"

Piper rolled her eyes upon hearing the nickname for Alex. Alex looked over at Piper's scowl and could sense jealousy. The two women both said Hi in unison.

"erm… haven't you got a class to be teaching? Sylvia enquired in Piper's direction.

Before Piper could respond, Alex jumped in. "Yes, we were just scheduling a meeting"

"Well maybe during class time isn't exactly appropriate" Sylvia shot back.

Piper didn't like the tone that Sylvia was using. She couldn't help but think that it was jealousy shining through because of Piper speaking to Alex.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. "We've been outside for all of two minutes, the class are fine and getting on with their work… Anyway the discussion is over now. Thanks for the concern Sylvia" Alex gave a sarcastic smile which she didn't pick up on.

"Ok babe" Sylvia totally disregarded that Piper was even standing there anymore and began a new conversation with Alex. "How would you feel about us going away at the weekend to sort things out?"

At this, Piper raised her eyebrow and dismissed herself from the conversation. Truth be told, she wasn't ready to hear Alex's response. She wasn't quite sure what had gone on between the two of them previously, all she had known is what Alex had told her about the two of them having a lot of history and it being very complicated.

The blonde sat back at her desk to see the conversation continuing outside. She could see Alex waving her arms around as looked to be explaining something to her ex-girlfriend. Sylvia looked none too pleased at Alex's final words as they both faced and walked away in opposite directions.

Several minutes later, Piper heard her phone vibrate a couple of times from the drawer in her desk. She opened the draw and took it out to find Alex's name displayed on the screen.

 _WHAT A STUPID COW._

Piper tried her best to stifle a laugh as she read the first part of Alex's text message. It was clear that the older woman was not happy about Sylvia's earlier actions. She continued to read on.

 _I wish you would have stayed to hear the rest of the conversation. I told her that if I was going to go away with anyone for a weekend it definitely wouldn't be her because my eye and my mind is concentrated on someone else. ;)_

Reading that made Piper's heart flutter. She had only known Alex for a matter of days but she'd never felt so strongly about something before. Piper really, really liked Alex and she wasn't going to be ashamed to admit it.

 _You should've told her who… her face would have been a picture._

 _PS – I really like you, Alex._

Piper's heart began to beat in her chest at a much faster pace in anticipation of receiving Alex's next text message. A couple of minutes passed by before the raven haired woman's message came through.

 _ **FROM: ALEX**_

 _In that case, it's a good job I really like you too Piper._

 _Do you want me to pick you up tonight so you can have a drink or are you going to drive?_

 _ **TO: ALEX**_

 _Trying to get me drunk again are you Miss Vause? I'll drive myself tonight, but thank you for the offer._

 _ **FROM: ALEX**_

 _Not at all. That would be very inappropriate of me Miss Chapman. Dinner is at 6:30. I will send you the address later._

 _Have a good day X_

Piper smiled wholeheartedly at the little kiss left on the end of Alex's text. It was such a small gesture, but it meant quite a lot to her. The blonde loved being in Alex's company so she couldn't wait to spend the night with the older woman and their two colleagues. The thought of being in such company for the night ahead is the one factor which helped Piper get through the rest of her day.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hope you all enjoy Chapter 4!**

* * *

After Alex's run in with her ex-girlfriend in the middle of the English corridor, she returned back to the confines of her own office. She pulled out her iPhone so that she could text Piper and tell her about the conversation she had just had with Sylvie. As she was doing so, her best friend walked in.

"What's got you all smiley?" Nicky enquired.

"Does it ever occur to you that I might want you to knock?"

"Does it ever occur to you that I'm your best friend?"

"Smart ass."

"So, like I ask, what's gotten you all smiley… or should I ask who? Nicky sat down in the chair opposite Alex and threw her legs up onto the desk.

Alex smirked. "Piper"

"Oh, do tell me more Vause"

"I hope you don't mind… I invited her to dinner tonight"

Nicky raised her eyebrow and a huge grin formed on her face. "Well, well, well. That's an interesting sign"

"How so?"

"You don't invite just anyone to dinner Vause… You clearly like her!"

Alex tried to hide the smile but she failed. "Yeah…. I do"

"And is this a mutual thing?" Nicky pushed further.

"It sure is"

"Well I for one am happy for you"

"Thanks Nick."

"Anyway, you owe me one. I did hire her after all" Nicky smirked.

"Oh please don't. Your head might not fit through the door on the way out" Alex chuckled.

"Nope. You should just be grateful that you're not third wheeling tonight"

Alex shook her head. "How's things with Lorna?"

"Ah you know… It's ok. She's fun" Nicky was obviously playing it down and hoped Alex wouldn't notice.

"You're the worst liar… I can see right through you! That grin on your face every time you see her tells me different"

Nicky sighed. "Look at both of us hey. Rule number 1, never fall in love with a straight girl"

Alex jumped in, "Well technically, you're the only one chasing a completely straight girl… and who said anything about falling in love?"

Nicky looked down at the floor and swallowed. "I think I'm well on the way."

Alex was taken aback by this comment and raised her eyebrows. "Damn… if this is the effect straight girls have on you, steer me well clear of them" She began laughing.

"Shut up" her best friend shot back defensively.

"What are you even doing here anyway?" Alex changed the subject.

"Am I not allowed to come and check up on you?"

"Well seeing as I'm your boss… no."

Nicky laughed. "I needed a break, this morning has been crazy"

"You're an ass. You don't get paid to sit around all day, get some work done!" Alex dismissed her friend with a wave and a slight smirk and began to type on her keyboard.

* * *

At half past 12, Piper received some lunch from the cafeteria and carried the contents of the paper bag throughout the corridors until she reached the school staff room. Walking through the double doors, she quickly scanned the room to see if she could spot any of the colleagues she was familiar with. Noticing a wild mane of hair sticking out like a sore thumb in the far corner of the room, she identified it to be Nicky and made her way over to the woman. Settling down across from her, Nicky greeted Piper.

"Yo blondie"

"Hey Nick"

"So a little birdie tells me you will be making an appearance at the apartment tonight" Nicky teased.

"Would that little birdie happen to have long black hair, sexy secretary glasses and a figure to die for?" Piper enquired.

"Well damn Chapman" she paused. "Let Vause hear you talk about her in that manner and you won't last two seconds in the same room as her"

Piper blushed at the thought.

Trying to shake her current thoughts from her mind, she changed the conversation.

"So, you can cook?" The blonde questioned.

Nicky let out a slight laugh. "Sure, if you want salmonella…. No way, Vause will be doing all the cooking I'm afraid."

"Oh that's good to know" Piper nodded.

"Yeah, she's the full package blondie"

"Hey, I really wish you would stop calling me that!"

"I thought you liked it" Nicky winked.

Piper sent an eye roll in the other woman's direction.

"And am I right in thinking Lorna will be present tonight as well?"

"You are correct" Nicky nodded.

"Does this mean that you two are a thing?" The blonde queried.

Nicky shrugged. "I guess we will just have to wait and see Chapman"

Before Piper could reply, the school bell rang throughout the room which indicated that Piper needed to leave for her next class.

"That's my queue to leave… I guess I'll see you tonight"

"You sure will" Nicky replied.

Piper placed her hand on the door handle and pushed her arm down before she was stopped in her tracks by hearing Nicky calling after her. The blonde turned around to find out what she wanted.

"Wear something sexy!"

"Oh you're ridiculous" Piper chuckled.

Nicky held her hands up in defence. "For Vause's benefit, not mine!"

* * *

Once Piper's long, stressful work day had come to a conclusion she headed for home. Opening the door to Polly's apartment she could hear strange noises coming from the direction of her best friend's bedroom.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, Piper walked through the apartment to find Polly and stopped dead in her tracks when she found her knelt down with her head in her hands. Looking around the room the blonde could see clothes thrown in all corners and each and every drawer opened.

"Woah, what's wrong… Have you lost something?"

Polly sighed, removing her hands from her face so that the blonde could hear her. "I'm trying to find something to wear for tonight… I'm meeting Pete"

Piper sighed in relief that the situation wasn't anything dramatic. "Ok, stress no longer. I will help you"

The blonde sauntered over to her best friend's wardrobe and threw the doors open revealing Polly's long line of clothing. "So where are you meeting? What's the plan?"

"Dinner at that new posh Italian"

Piper held an impressed expression. "Wow. He's really pulling out all the stops eh. How did he get reservations for that place?"

"I don't know but he's really spoiling me"

"Good because if not, he would have me to deal with" Piper smirked.

"So, I'm thinking you need to wear a hot dress." Piper turned to face Polly's wardrobe before flicking through each item and pulling out two dresses held on hangers.

She held them out at arm's length and said. "I think either this one or this one?"

Polly chose one of the dresses and that earned a smile from Piper.

"Good because I was hoping I could borrow this one" The blonde chuckled.

"Where are you going?"

"I have dinner plans with Alex, Nicky and Lorna as it goes"

"Oh… so you weren't actually here to help me. You just wanted to steal my clothes so you could make a good impression for the boss huh?" Polly smirked.

Piper held her hands up. "You got me"

"I'm happy for us Pipes… It's about time we both found a bit of happiness"

"You're such a sap"

"You love it"

"Ok, so I'm just going to get in the shower. I need to wash my h-" Piper explained.

Before she even knew what was happening, Polly darted out of the room and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Piper ran to the bathroom and tried the door handle vigorously.

"POLLLLLLLLY" She moaned in frustration.

A small giggle could be heard from the other side of the door. "Sorry Pipes, you were too slow"

"UGH! Every time" The blonde didn't hide how annoyed she was with her best friend for doing that.

"I won't be long p, calm down"

Piper loved sharing an apartment with her best friend. It reminded her of the days when she was back in college. That's where the two of them first met. From day one they were joined at the hip and that lasted for the full three years they attended Smith. However, when it came to graduating, the pair of them discussed the plans of moving in together but Piper had Larry to think about and her mum pushed her towards getting a place with him. Having the opportunity to share the same space with Polly again was an amazing feeling for Piper but only having access to one bathroom was fast becoming a big problem.

* * *

Piper arrived at Alex and Nicky's apartment block around 15 minutes after the time Alex had originally told her to be there. Seeing that the ground floor elevator displayed an "OUT OF ORDER!" sign, she made a run for the stairs.

Upon reaching the correct floor, Piper located the right apartment and began to knock on the door. Within seconds the door swung open and Nicky appeared.

"What's gotten you all hot, sweaty and out of breathe blondie?" Nicky greeted, raising an eyebrow.

"I tried to get in the ele… and it said out of… So I had to get up… Stairs… running, but im here now" Piper tried to get all of her words out in between taking deep breaths but it all appeared to come out in a jumble.

Nicky looked at her in disbelief. "Right ok… Well as you know, dinner was" she checked her watch, sucking air into her mouth "17 minutes ago"

"I'm so sorry, it's all Polly's fault"

"I'm not sure how the boss is going to feel about all of this you know…"

Piper's face dropped as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"She loves professionality… being on time is so important to her"

Nicky's expression was deadly serious as she was speaking to Piper.

"If I could just explain" Piper tried to reason.

Nicky looked back into the apartment behind her as if she was seeking approval.

She then burst out laughing. "Don't sweat it blondie, get yourself in here… Luckily for you we haven't plated up yet"

Piper blew out a sigh of relief that Nicky was only playing with her.

The blonde stepped into the apartment and gave it a once over with her eyes, taking in every detail. The view was like no other she had seen before, there was large windows along one wall, from ceiling to floor which overlooked the city. Wooden floors ran right throughout the apartment and the whole lounge, kitchen and dining area was open plan. Piper couldn't help but admire her colleagues' home.

"Wow, this place is amazing."

Piper looked over to the kitchen and could see Alex working hard to prepare the meal.

Looking across to the living area, she spotted Lorna sat on the couch nursing a glass of wine.

"Hey Lorna" she greeted.

"Hi Piper. So nice to see you again." She offered a wide smile.

Just then, from the corner of her eye, she saw Alex striding over to where she and Nicky currently stood.

Blue eyes met green.

"Hey"

"Hey yourself" They both shared a small smile.

"Can I take your jacket?" Alex asked politely.

"Sure." The blonde turned around so that her back was facing Alex's front. She let out a shudder as she felt the taller woman's finger tips graze the skin exposing her collar bones as she gently pulled the coat from the blonde's shoulders and all the way down the length of her arms until she was released from the material.

Piper spun back around giving Alex a full view of her outfit.

"You look great Pipes"

"Thank you, as do you" Alex gazed into Piper's eyes as they once again shared a smile.

"SOMEONE GET ME A BUCKET" Nicky could be heard shouting as she interrupted their little moment.

Alex rolled her eyes at her best friend's behaviour before asking, "Can I get you a drink?"

"I'll just have a glass of wine with my dinner thank you. I'm driving remember" Piper responded.

"Of course. Well take a seat, dinner won't be long"

Piper and Lorna both sat on the couch talking about various things before they were called to dinner some minutes later. All four women took their seats at the table. Piper sat next to Lorna and across from her was Alex.

Over dinner, there was minimal chatter, only speaking now and again about work related things.

Just as Piper took the last bite of her food, she could feel something touching her inner leg from underneath the table. She paused for a moment and waited to see if the touching would subside. As she came to the assumption that the touch was innocent and a mistake, it started back up again and this time, it ran from the length of her ankle, all the way up to her knee.

Feeling skin against skin, Piper guessed almost immediately that the touching was being carried out by a bare foot. The blonde thought long and hard about Alex's choice of footwear that night. She was 99% sure that the taller woman was wearing a pair of black leather boots to match her outfit.

Piper consumed a sip of her drink and as she did so, Alex excused herself to go to the bathroom. Realisation suddenly sunk in of who was rubbing their foot along her leg as the touching continued and the blonde spat her drink out.

Everyone turned to look at Piper with questioning looks written all over their faces. Piper didn't have it in her heart to embarrass Nicky in front of everyone so she tried to play it cool. "erm… sorry it went down the wrong hole"

The three other women in the room seemed to have bought that excuse and carried on with what they were doing. Alex returned to the table several minutes later when Nicky and Lorna was finishing up their meal.

Being as polite as she were, Lorna demanded that she would clean the dishes and so Nicky offered to help her which came as a surprise to Alex.

"Shall we move this to the couch?" Alex asked.

Piper just nodded and led the pair of them over to the couch before sitting next to each other.

The blonde curled her leg underneath herself and turned in her seat to face the older woman.

Just thinking about what had happened under the table, Piper burst out laughing to herself. "I need to tell you something"

"What is it?" Alex asked quizzically.

Piper tried to explain herself but struggled on many occasions due to breaking in to a fit of giggles.

She breathed in and out deeply, trying to regain her calm so that she could tell Alex.

Once she returned to a normal state, she began speaking. "So, half way through dinner just then. I felt something touching my leg." Alex raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I assumed it would be you but then I realised this person was bare footed and you were wearing shoes…. When you went to the bathroom it continued" Piper went to carry on with her explanation but Alex burst out laughing at the realisation of the whole situation.

"She must have thought I was Lorna!" Piper exclaimed in a whisper.

Alex had laughed so much at the whole ordeal that she had tears streaming down her face.

"I can't believe that" she giggled.

"I just couldn't call her out on it and embarrass her in front of everyone like that" Piper replied.

"No, that was probably for the best." Alex said with a smirk.

Nicky and Lorna both retreated to the couch adjacent to the one that Piper and Alex were currently occupying. Seeing Nicky in front of her again, led Alex to another fit of uncontrollable giggles. This sent Piper over the edge too and they were both sat in a mess of hysterics.

"Yo lesbians" Nicky started. "Wanna share the joke with the rest of us?"

Neither of them could even speak at that moment so they shook their head in response.

"Suit yourself" Nicky seemed to be annoyed that the pair kept laughing but she let it slide.

"So who wants to play a little game?" Nicky asked.

Once Alex's laughing had died down, she spoke up "What do you have in mind?"

At that, Piper leaned over and whispered into the taller woman's ear "Footsie"

They both began laughing again which only seemed to piss Nicky off even more.

Nicky tried her best to ignore the pair and carried on her conversation. "I don't know, a little drinking game maybe"

"I haven't played any drinking games for years. Besides, we have work tomorrow and I've got to make my way home" Piper reminded them.

"Borrrrring!" Nicky hollered.

"Next time I swear" Piper tried to defend.

"Who says there is going to be a next time blondie?" Nicky asked.

"Oh there will definitely be a next time… You're up for it right Lorna?" Alex piped up.

"Of course, tonight's been fun!" Lorna exclaimed.

"It has been… but it's not over yet" Nicky stated.

Lorna turned and looked at her "It isn't? What's the plan then?"

Nicky placed her finger on her chin and began to tap while she thought. "erm… how about a movie?"

"A movie?" Alex repeated questioningly.

"Yay! Lets have a movie night" Lorna squealed to which she earnt a smirk and a playful nudge from Nicky.

"Scary film?" Nicky asked.

"it HAS to be scary" Alex emphasised the "has" as loudly as she could.

"Oh no way" and "no no no" came in unison from both Lorna and Piper.

"Oh come on…." Nicky tried to persuade them otherwise.

"Not a chance" Piper folded her arms, not giving in to Nicky.

"Ugh… fine what do you suggest?" Nicky asked, aiming it at no-one in particular.

"ROMCOMS ARE MY FAVOURITE!" Lorna exclaimed

"Brilliant idea!" Piper smiled in agreement.

"A rom com?" Alex questioned.

"That's so not our style"

"So make it your style" Piper fluttered her eyelashes at the taller woman.

"Fine ok… but don't speak a word of this to anybody!"

"Exactly. It will ruin our street cred, isn't that right Vause?"

Lorna clapped her hands together with a beaming smile. "I can't wait"

The small brunette chose a film on Netflix and paused it before turning to the waiting group. "Ok, blankets, drinks and lights off is what we need!"

Nicky raised her eyebrows at that.

"What? I like to be all cosy and snuggly when watching films"

Alex sniggered as she got up to fetch a bottle of wine and four glasses as Nicky went on the hunt for blankets for each pairing.

Once everyone was settled in their positions Nicky spoke up "Ok can we start now please?"

"Yes let's go!" Lorna said and pressed play.

At the mid-point of the film, Piper excused herself to go to the bathroom. Alex looked over to the other couch in the darkness and could make out that the two other women in the room were spooning. Nicky was behind Lorna and placing gentle kisses on the back of her neck every couple of minutes.

Alex shook her head at the whole situation. This right here was something that Alex and Nicky never did. It was so bizarre to her but she would be telling a huge lie if she said she didn't enjoy it.

Once Piper had returned back to the couch, Alex adjusted her position so that she would be propped up against one arm of the couch and sprawled her legs along the front. She gestured for Piper to lay behind her legs and allowed the blonde to lay her head along Alex's chest. As she did so, the taller woman pulled the blanket over the pair of them. She threw one arm over Piper and set her other hand to rest on her stomach. A couple of seconds later, she felt a warm hand grasp her own and link their fingers together. Alex smiled at this gesture and placed a gentle kiss on the top of Piper's head as they continued to watch the movie.

Alex had never felt so content in her life. Tonight was one of the happiest nights she had encountered in a very long time. She was in the best company, including a woman that she shared a mutual connection with and her best friend that she loved very dearly, who also had found someone she really liked. Alex was at a really high point in her life and she was determined to keep it this way.

* * *

Alex woke up later that night and felt a dead weight on her body. As she opened her eyes and looked down, she saw a peaceful sleeping blonde in her arms. She took a few minutes to study the blonde and really appreciate Piper's beauty. Never had Alex felt so lucky to have found someone like Piper.

Hearing a soft snoring coming from nearby, she looked at the other couch and saw that both Nicky and Lorna were also fast asleep.

Adverting her eyes to the clock on the mantelpiece, she squinted her eyes and just about made out that it read 11:42. "Shit" she whispered under her breath.

There would be nothing more that Alex would like right then than to stay in the position she was in but she knew full well that all four of them had work the next morning and no doubt Piper and Lorna would want to go home.

Alex knew she had to wake the blonde up and so began to trace her finger tips up and down Piper's arm slightly and place gently kisses on her head. "Piper" she whispered. Silence. "Piper.." She gave the blonde a gentle shake. The younger woman began to stir in her arms "mmm" came from her lips as she felt Alex's gentle caresses.

"Pipes its 20 to 12" Alex whispered.

"Shit really?" The blonde asked, voice thick with sleep, remaining in her position.

"If you're too tired to drive, you can always stay here"

"That sounds so good. I don't think I can even move right now. You're soooo comfy" Piper yawned.

Alex smiled. "Is that what you want kid?"

"Is that ok? I'll just have to leave really early tomorrow to get my work stuff."

"Sure that's ok"

"Thanks Al" Alex smiled at the nickname. Sure other people called her it, but it sounded so much better coming from Piper.

"Now… what to do about them two?" Alex gestured to Nicky and Lorna on the other couch.

Piper looked up for the first time and glanced in the direction of the two sleeping women. "How cute do they look right now?"

"Who would've pegged Nicky Nicholls as a cuddler?"

Piper smirked. "I say that we leave them"

"Really? You don't think Lorna will be pissed that we didn't wake her up?"

"I'll just wake her up early tomorrow, I'm sure she'll appreciate this" Piper smiled looking over at the two of them again. "I wouldn't have it in me to wake them up anyway, they look so peaceful"

"I'll show you to my room. You can take my bed, I'll have the couch"

Piper sat up. "I don't want to put you out Al"

"You're not putting me out Pipes, its fine honestly" She gave a genuine smile.

"Why don't you come to bed with me?" Piper questioned.

Alex raised her eyebrow and smirked. The blonde slapped her playfully. "I'll miss your warmth if I'm on my own"

"Come on then" Alex stood up and took Piper's in her own. She held on and guided the blonde through the dark apartment and into her bedroom.

As they crossed the threshold Piper gasped. "This room is gorgeous! Wow… The bed is huge! She sat down on it. "Oh so comfy too!"

Alex chuckled as she was rooting through her drawers. She picked out two t-shirts and threw one at the blonde. "Here put this on… I'm just going to get changed and brush my teeth."

By the time Alex came back from the bathroom, Piper had already gotten herself comfy in the bed.

"Oh so I see you've stolen my side of the bed" Alex smirked with a raised eyebrow playfully.

The blonde began to move under the covers, shifting to the other side.

"Oh no you don't. Stay there" Alex demanded.

The raven haired woman climbed in at the other side and scooted all the way to the other side and rested behind the blonde. "For that stunt you're going to have to be my little spoon" Piper smiled as she moved her body back until it was matching the outline of Alex's. Alex threw an arm around Piper's body and rested it on the blonde's stomach. Piper placed her own hand on top of Alex's before she heard the taller woman asking, "Is this ok?"

The blonde nodded in reply as she whispered "Night Alex"

"Night Pipes" Came Alex's reply as they fell into a peaceful slumber.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Piper was startled as the sound of her alarm rang throughout the room. "Urgh…" Piper groaned, tapping the brightly lit screen of her iPhone so that it would snooze for a further five minutes. As she settled back down into position, she felt the arm draped around her waist squeeze much tighter. Realising that the pair of them hadn't moved a muscle all night and they were still wrapped in the same position they fell asleep in, Piper allowed a huge smile to creep up on to her face.

"Mmm... I like the feel of this" came the husky, sleep riddled voice from behind the blonde.

Piper turned in her spot so that she was now facing Alex front on. She positioned her head so that it now lay in the crook of Alex's neck. Impossibly close. "No… this is definitely my favoured position" Alex spoke again to which the blonde just smiled.

Pulling back for a second to lay her head on the pillow, the blonde stared at the half asleep woman laid next to her. Admiring every single detail which adorned her face. Piper had so many thoughts running through her mind, she was so zoned out she hadn't realised Alex had opened one eye to peak at the blonde and catch her in the act.

"Do I have something on my face?" Alex chuckled, closing her eyes again.

Piper blinked a couple of times as she recognised that she had been caught staring.

Beginning to blush she said, "Sorry, I was miles away"

"What are you thinking?"

"It's nothing"

"Tell me Pipes" The taller woman opened both eyes for the first time that morning and placed a hand on Pipers cheek, beginning to stroke across the young blonde's cheek bone with her thumb.

"I like this… us. Whatever it is"

Alex smiled. "I like this too"

"It's so weird because I've only known you a matter of days but it feels so good." She paused. "And it feels so right"

Alex removed her hand from Piper's face and linked their hands together.

"Don't fight it"

"I won't." Silence. "I don't want to"

"Good" Alex whispered.

The brunette leaned in for a kiss. She was so close that she could feel the blonde's breath on her face. Closing her eyes in anticipation, she was stopped suddenly when her face made contact with something unexpectedly.

Opening her eyes, she was presented with the back of the blonde's hands.

"erm… Pipes?" Alex said questioningly.

"Morning breath" Piper said, still hiding behind her hands.

"What happened to not fighting it?" Alex asked with a sneer.

"Some things have got to be fought I'm afraid" Piper replied.

Just as Alex was about to try her chances again, they were interrupted by Piper's alarm ringing out for the second time. Piper was about to get up from the bed but she was pulled back by the taller woman. Alex reached over and snoozed the alarm once more.

Before Piper knew what was happening, Alex was straddling her hips and sat on top of her, restricting her movement. Piper looked up with confusion, wondering what Alex was doing, but she didn't dare move. Alex grabbed both of Piper's hands with her own and began to speak.

"So… It's currently 6:35" Alex began, double checking Piper's phone on the bedside table. "You've got to take a 10 minute drive home right?" Piper nodded. "Then take a shower yes?" Piper nodded once more. "And then you must get ready, have breakfast and arrive at work for 8am sharp. Am I correct in thinking?"

Piper seemed to dwell on her answer for a moment or two. "You would be correct. Any later than 8am and the boss would have my head on the chopping block you see"

"Is that so?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. They say she can be very fearsome. Especially when staff members cannot be punctual"

Alex nodded as if she was taking Piper's words. "And who would _they_ be?" she asked.

"Oh you know… just some of my very trusted sources" Piper replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Alex glanced at the clock once more. 6:36. "You know, I've heard she can be very lenient when it comes to her favoured staff members."

"You have favourites?" Piper questioned.

Alex nodded seriously. "Of course. I have a very, very reliable receptionist and my trusted deputy head Nicky. Two of my favourite people across the whole school"

The older woman then paused. "So, with that being said, I won't wake the pair of them up just yet. But you on the other hand… I had better let you go" Alex placed one foot down at the side of the bed as she began to climb off Piper. However, the blonde reached out and grabbed Alex's wrist to prevent her from moving any further.

"That's a shame… What would I have to do in order to become a favourite of yours?"

Alex smirked. _She's finally coming around,_ the taller woman thought.

"A good morning kiss is always a good start"

"Were Nicky and Lorna induced to the same tasks as well?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you see giving me a kiss as a task do you?"

"Yes… it very much so could be seen as a task." Piper smiled. "It would depend on how much you actually like the other person" she teased.

Alex didn't answer, she gazed directly in to Piper's eyes waiting for her to continue.

However, the blonde's response didn't come in the form of words. Piper pulled Alex down by her shoulders until their faces were inches apart.

Their lips collided and it was the most electrifying feeling that Piper had ever encountered in her life. The kiss was slow and tender. Not at all rushed and the blonde couldn't help but notice how soft Alex's lips were. This kiss was unlike any other she had shared with previous boyfriends or girlfriends. Piper savoured every single moment.

"mmm…" moaned the blonde.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that" Alex chuckled.

"I think I have an idea" Piper smiled, leading them into another kiss.

Meanwhile, Piper's alarm rung off for the third time that morning. The pair groaned before breaking away from each other.

"I really need to go now, I don't want to be late" Piper stood up from the bed, cancelling her alarm and collecting her clothes from the floor as she did so.

Alex dropped down to the bed and laid on her back, watching the blonde as she dressed herself.

"Because of the boss?" She questioned. "Fearsome was it?"

The blonde nodded. "It was the word on the street… but I'm beginning to think otherwise."

The brunette sniggered, standing from the bed and joining Piper at her side. She wrapped her arms around the younger blonde's waist and inhaled deeply.

"Thank you for coming last night"

"Thank you for having me"

"My pleasure" Alex captured Piper's lips with her own once more.

The pair of them walked to the apartment door together, making jokes about the rude awakening that Alex was threatening to give the sleeping women on the couch.

Alex swung the door open, allowing the blonde to walk out. Piper turned around to face the taller woman. "Soooo…" she started with a huge smile "I'll be seeing you later" she said, half questioningly, half stating.

"You can bet on it kid"

Piper leaned up and pecked Alex on the cheek. "Bye Al" and with that, she turned on her heel and descended the stairs to exit the apartment block.

Alex watched after her for several seconds with a smile on her face. Piper was getting under her skin and there was nothing she could do about it.

Returning back to the apartment and closing the door behind her, she strode over to the kitchen and grabbed a pan from a hook on the wall. Opening the cutlery drawer, she located a wooden spoon and grinned to herself. _Perfect._ She thought.

Alex walked over and stood behind the couch that her two colleagues were occupying. She hovered both the pan and the wooden spoon over their heads, one in each hand and began to bang the spoon against the bottom of the pan ferociously.

"Wakey Wakey" Alex shouted.

At that, low groans could be heard from Lorna and Nicky's head shot up in surprise.

"What the fuck Vause?" Nicky screeched as she tried to bat the wooden spoon out of her best friend's hand.

"Come on sleeping beauties, get yourselves up… Its 6:52!"

Ughhhhhh…" Nicky groaned as she stretched her arms out above her.

Lorna then shot up and joined Nicky in a sitting position. "Why didn't nobody wake me last night?"

"You were sleeping peacefully, Piper told me not to bother waking the beast." Alex chuckled as she patted Nicky's head.

"Damn…. I need to get home. I'm going to be so late! Lorna exclaimed.

Alex laughed. "Lorna chill. Take as long as you need to get ready. There isn't a rush. Nicky will cover your reception duties until you show up. Won't you Nick?"

Nicky didn't reply and offered a grunt.

"Aw, you're the best boss ever Alex" Lorna replied with a huge smile

"That's the attitude I love to see. Now I'm going to get a shower and head in. I'll see you both later."

"Oi" Nicky shouted after her best friend, sporting a shit eating grin.

"Yes Nicholls?" Alex spun round to face her.

"You got some last night didn't you?" Nicky questioned.

"No I didn't" Alex held her hands out honestly.

"So why are you so chipper at this time in the morning?"

"Can a girl not be happy ever?"

"Alex Vause doesn't do happy" Nicky threw a cushion in her best friend's direction. She knew something had gone on between her and Piper but she wasn't quite sure what.

Alex flipped Nicky off before walking in the direction of the bathroom.

* * *

Although Alex said that she would be seeing Piper later that day, she didn't. The two women's paths never seemed to have cross. Checking both her phone and her emails, Piper was disappointed to see that she had received no messages from her boss. The blonde just assumed that Alex had been snowed under with work all day and hadn't had a minutes break.

Piper returned to Polly's apartment that evening and prepared some food for dinner. As she allowed the food to cook, she ran a hot bubble bath so that she could relax and have some time to herself before her best friend came home.

25 minutes later she heard the door slam which signalled Polly had arrived home. Getting out of the bath, the blonde quickly dried herself off and threw on a bathrobe before going out to greet her best friend.

Walking into the kitchen, she noticed the brunette looking over the food that the blonde had prepared.

"I could get used to this. Coming home from work to have my dinner ready on the table"

"It's a little gesture of good will to say thanks for letting me stay here" Piper smiled.

"Well, I for one am not complaining"

Piper poured the pair of them a glass of wine each before settling down at the table, across from Polly.

"So, you dirty little stop out. How did last night go?" Polly asked.

"It was fine" Piper nodded. "Just very chilled out"

"What did you get up to?"

"We all had dinner and then had a movie night" Piper smiled as her thoughts drifted back to her and Alex cuddling on the couch.

"Sounds boring to me"

Piper rolled her eyes in response. "What about you and Pete?"

"Oh my god. I had the best night!" Her face lit up as she went on to explain every single detail of her date with Pete.

"Sounds fascinating" Piper replied, not really being able to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"Well you could be at least a little bit happy for me" Polly responded, picking up on Piper's tone of voice.

"Sorry. I am happy for you!" Piper reached over and placed her hand on top of Polly's. "I'm really happy for you. I'm just super tired. Listen, I'm going to get some marking done and then head to bed. I'll see you in the morning ok?" The blonde stood and went to hug her best friend before going to her bedroom.

"Hey, are you alright?" Polly asked, just before Piper went out of eyesight.

"Yes I'm fine" Piper replied to which the brunette raised an eyebrow.

"Honestly" the blonde tried to defend herself. "I'm just tired like I said, I'll be right as rain in the morning"

"Ok, night" Polly wasn't exactly convinced with Piper's answer but she let it slide.

"Night Pol"

* * *

Friday morning quickly rolled around. This was the last day of Piper's first working week as a teacher. The blonde arrived to her classroom dead on 8am that morning and the first thing she did was log on to her computer with the purpose of checking her emails. Once the program had loaded, it came to her attention that she had 3 unread emails. Scanning through the list, she noticed two from Lorna which had general information about activities around the school. However, she noticed that the third was from Sylvia. With a puzzled expression on her face, she clicked to open the email.

 **SUBJECT: 1-to-1 Meeting**

Just from reading the subject title Piper's mood changed instantly. "Great" she muttered.

 _Good Morning Piper,_

 _I've scheduled a meeting for us both to meet at 4pm this afternoon. This meeting is compulsory and will be taking place in your classroom. I expect you to be present as soon as I arrive so that the meeting can get underway almost immediately._

 _Kind regards_

Sylvia  
Head of Department - English  
Litchfield High

Piper scoffed as she came to the end of the email. "Talk about giving me notice" Piper said aloud.

The blonde's first impression of Sylvia wasn't great at all. When she found out about her having a past with Alex, she couldn't help but dislike her even more. She thought about replying using the same tone as Sylvia had with Piper but she knew that she had to play nice, especially as Sylvia was in charge of the English department.

 _Ok, see you at 4._

Piper sent back a very basic email. She didn't bother with pleasantries as she was very annoyed with the other woman. The blonde had a funny feeling that Sylvia had arranged this meeting just to be a complete bitch. There was no way that these meetings were compulsory, Sylvia could have asked the blonde when she was free and scheduled it for a time they were both happy with but she didn't. This whole situation only made the blonde dislike Sylvia even more.

Knowing that she had a meeting with Sylvia put a dampener on Piper's mood for the duration of the day. As soon as the bell rung signalling the end of the final lesson, all the blonde wanted to do was pack up her things and head for the exit. Instead, she had to sit wait around for Sylvia to show up and carry out a pointless meeting.

Sit around and wait for Sylvia is exactly what Piper had to do. 16:20 read the time and the brunette had still not shown her face to the blonde's classroom. The blonde arose from her chair sighing, she had had enough of waiting around for the other woman to show up, so began to gather her things together.

Just as she was about to pull on her coat, Sylvia came crashing through the classroom door.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting, I had to deal with some insufferable students" Sylvia started. Completely disregarding that the blonde had started to pull on her coat.

The brunette threw her files on the closest desk possible and slumped down in a chair.

"What a long week this has been" Sylvia spoke through yawns.

She finally noticed that the blonde had been ready to up and leave. "Oh I see you were about to leave? Well, come take a seat I am here now" She offered a sly smile.

The blonde turned around to shrug her coat off and carried out the biggest eye roll. She was certainly not Sylvia's biggest fan at that moment.

As Piper took a seat, she began to speak. "How come we are having a meeting so early on if you don't mind me asking? I mean we've only been here a week"

"I know that but I need to make sure that all of my staff are settled in and that the students are getting the full potential out of their teachers" Sylvia used quite a harsh tone and Piper was slightly taken back by it.

"Is there somewhere else you'd rather be?" The brunette questioned.

"No, of course not. I was just wondering" The blonde replied, suddenly finding her feet far more interesting to look at than the woman sat before her.

Piper felt so awkward and couldn't wait for this meeting to wrap up before it had even started.

"Right, so the first week has been completed. You've taught all of your classes for the first time. Tell me how you –"

Sylvia was cut off by the sound of someone entering the room.

Piper looked up to see who the intruder was and smiled instantaneously. Alex.

Alex had frowned at the situation she had walked in to. She didn't expect to see her ex-girlfriend in Piper's classroom.

"Umm… did I interrupt something?"

"We're having a 1 to 1 meeting about Piper's teaching and the students learning"

"Really? She has only been in the job a week?" Alex chuckled in disbelief, echoing the blonde's thoughts.

"That's what I thought" Piper mumbled

Sylvia shot a look at Piper.

"I want what's best for the English department. I cannot be having people breathing down my neck all year long like last year" She raised an eyebrow and gave a stern look towards Alex.

Nobody spoke so Sylvia took this as a queue to continue.

"If weekly meetings with my staff members right from the get go is what needs to take place, then that is exactly what will happen! I can't have people questioning me constantly about my actions"

Sylvia seemed to be getting worked up and Alex noticed this so she interrupted.

"I'm not going to tell you how to run things, you do what you need to do" Alex tried to reason.

Having Alex's approval seemed to make Sylvia soften up a bit. "Thank you, are you sticking around? It's just that I hoped we could have talked before we left for the weekend"

"I just wanted a quick word with Piper actually before I went home"

"Ok, well maybe I could grab you outside for a second?"

Alex sighed. "Unless its work related then no chance"

Sylvia looked none too pleased at the taller woman's words. "Please Ally"

The blonde let out a slight giggle at hearing the nickname. "Ally" she muttered under her breath.

Alex noticed the blonde's actions and couldn't help but smirk. She noticed that her ex-girlfriend had shot Piper a death glare and so to stop things from escalating any further, she tried to reason with her.

"Fine… you have two minutes." Alex started as Sylvia nodded in agreement.

"But on the condition that you don't bother Piper with any of these 1 to 1 meetings for at least a month. She needs time to get her feet under the table ok?"

"Yeah fine" Sylvia gathered her belongings with a disappointed look and made her way to the exit. "I'll wait out here for you" she mumbled as she passed Alex.

Ensuring that the door had closed fully behind Sylvia, the blonde slammed both hands on the table dramatically and let out a huge sigh of relief. She pushed on her hands and stood up from her seat and walked over to Alex.

She placed her hands around Alex's neck as the taller woman placed her own arms around the young blonde's waist.

"Thank you so much" Piper smiled whilst gazing into Alex's eyes.

Alex placed a kiss on the blonde's lips. "I can't decide whether she's doing this on purpose or not"

"Probably… I don't think she likes me"

"She's ridiculous"

"She's a bitch" Piper smirked.

Alex matched the smirk donning Piper's face before catching the blonde's lips in yet another kiss.

As they broke away, Piper spoke up. "So, what can I do for you Miss Vause?"

Alex's face changed into a look of uncertainty before she spoke up. "I haven't seen you since you left the apartment yesterday morning and I have plans over the weekend so I wanted to see you one last time before Monday"

Piper smiled at how adorable Alex had been right then.

"So what you meant to say was… You've missed me and you're going to miss me even more over the weekend"

Alex smirked. "In a roundabout way…" _Kiss._ "That's exactly what I meant"

Piper looked down and gulped as she thought about what she was going to say next. "It's kind of weird…"

"What is?" Alex questioned.

"I can't seem to stop thinking about you"

"Yeah… I know the feeling Chapman"

"Chapman?! Only Nicky calls me that" Piper laughed.

"It suits you"

"Well… you had better go and see what the troll outside wants"

"The troll" Alex repeated, chuckling. "Desperate to get rid of me are you?"

"Nope" Piper shook her head. "But she's going to get the biggest shock of her life if she walks in here and see's us kissing"

Alex shrugged. "So" _Kiss._ "Let" _Kiss._ "Her" _Kiss._

"As fun as that would be, I should probably get going. I've got to stop off at the grocery store and pick up a few bits for dinner tonight and Polly finishes work really soon" Piper spoke as she glanced at her watch over Alex's shoulder.

"What? She has you trained to be her little bitch?"

"She wishes" Piper smirked.

"She can keep wishing" Alex raised her eyebrows.

They shared another kiss before pulling away from each other. "Tell molly I said hi"

"Polly" Piper corrected.

"Yeah that's what I said" The taller woman grinned.

"Call me?" Piper questioned with uncertainty in her voice.

"I promise" and with that, Alex left the room.

* * *

On Saturday, Piper spent the whole day with her family. The blonde wasn't very keen on the idea but her mother had demanded that Piper be present and so off she travelled to her family home. Usually, she finds the whole situation unbearable but this time around, her mother was acting unlike herself and being very kind for once. The Larry situation wasn't brought up once, which Piper was thankful for, neither was any other aspect of Piper's life except her career. Undoubtedly, Piper's parents were really proud of their daughter. Whether this was due to the fact that the blonde hadn't thrown their college fees down the drain or the fact that her career reflected on the two of them and so they were seen in a positive light because of her, remained unknown.

Being so busy that day, meant that her mind had been taken off Alex. But today was Sunday and Piper was alone with her thoughts. Alex had still not been in touch with Piper since Friday. Yes, Alex had promised that she would call the blonde but she didn't give a specific time frame.

The blonde considered texting the older woman, but she didn't want to impose on Alex, because after all, she did say that she would be busy this weekend.

Piper was brought out of her thoughts as she heard the door slam and in walked her best friend.

"Hey what's gotten you looking so glum?"

"It's nothing, I think I'm just being stupid"

"Come on Pipes, you can tell me anything"

"It's Alex" Piper sighed.

"What's she done?" Polly raised her voice

"No... No nothing"

"Right… go ahead"

"On Friday, she promised she would call but I've not had anything from her"

"Oh Pipes…" Polly sat down and placed her hand on the blonde's thigh.

"She did say she had plans all weekend so am I just over thinking it?"

"Maybe…"

"It's not like I'm her girlfriend or anything though is it"

"What?" Polly looked wide eyed. "You don't think she's seeing anyone else do you?"

The blonde sighed. "Her ex-girlfriend is in charge of the English department"

"Oh shit!" Polly exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"It never really bothered me until now"

"Fuck" Polly pulled her best friend closer reassuringly. "I'm sure she's not like that Piper. I've seen the way she looks at you"

"When she left me on Friday, she went out to speak to Sylvia. God knows what got said in that conversation"

"I really don't think you should be letting this eat up at you"

"I can't help it" Piper looked her best friend dead in the eye. "I really like her Pol"

"Why don't you send her a text? Let her know you are thinking of her…"

"That's half my problem… I don't want to look so needy. She said she would call, so I'm supposed to wait for her to call" The blonde rubbed her hands against her face in frustration. "That's how it's supposed to work right?"

"Look. It's not the end of the world if she doesn't get in touch today right? I mean… you see her in what? Less than 24 hours now yeah?"

Piper nodded. "I guess you're right."

After the conversation with Polly, the blonde went out for a run to clear her mind. It was incredible how quickly that Alex had gotten under her skin. It's like the blonde was besotted with her and she had an Alex fix that needed to be attended to every single day.

Coming home from the run at 8pm, Piper decided that she needed to create some lesson plans for the week ahead. Spreading the worksheets across the table, she sat down and got on with her work.

Around 20 minutes later, the blonde's phone began to buzz against the table. Piper looked around her in confusion for a couple of seconds trying to locate where the sound was coming from. Realising that the device was situated underneath the masses of paperwork she quickly shifted it out of the way to retrieve her phone.

As she read the name on the display of who was calling, her heart fluttered. _Alex Vause._ It read.

Hitting the green answer icon eagerly, she pressed the phone up against her ear.

"Alex"

"Hey Pipes"

 _Ugh, that voice._ Piper thought. Alex's voice was so sexy and she couldn't get enough of it.

"Sorry I haven't called sooner, I've been really busy"

Piper's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the conversation she had with Polly earlier. "No… it's fine" The blonde tried so hard to disguise the hurt she was feeling but she didn't succeed.

"What's wrong? You sound upset?" Piper inwardly cringed at how obvious she had been.

"Sorry, I'm just tired" Piper lied.

"Oh, do you want me to let you go?

"No!" Piper said almost too quickly.

The blonde could punch herself for how awkward she was being right then.

Alex chuckled. "Ok, I'll stay"

Neither woman spoke a word and with an awkward silence looming over them, Alex intervened.

"What have you been up to this weekend? Anything fun?"

"Erm… dinner with my parents, lesson planning. You know, the usual boring things… you?"

Piper could sense the hesitant reply over the phone but waited patiently for Alex to speak up.

"I spent the weekend with my mom."

"Oh that's lovely" Piper replied genuinely.

"Yeah…" Alex mumbled.

"You don't sound too certain, did everything go ok?" Piper frowned.

"Not really. My mom is ill Piper"

At that revelation, Piper swallowed nervously. She was suddenly feeling very stupid for all of the thoughts that she had allowed to run through her mind that day. To even think of the possibility that Alex could've been seeing anyone else when she was in fact spending the weekend with her mom made her want to kick herself repeatedly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is she going to be ok?"

"I don't know… We went for some scans today so fingers crossed."

Silence filled the two handsets once more, neither woman knowing what to say next.

"Alex… I-"

"I'm here for you ok"

Piper could sense the other woman smiling through the phone. "Thank you Pipes"

"What a shitty way to start the conversation" Alex chuckled. "So anyway… I have an invitation for you"

Piper pursed her lips. "Oh really? What for?"

"Nicky says she had your word that the next time you came around we would play drinking games"

"Ah…. Yes I remember"

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Nicky can be quite…"

There was silence as Alex thought of a way to finish her sentence.

"Wild"

"Demanding"

"Crazy"

"Foolish"

"Challenging"

"Open"

Both women trailed off words to finish off Alex's sentence, chuckling at each one.

"I accept the invitation" Piper responded with a smile.

"Great. It will be us four again, like last time"

"When is it?"

"Friday"

"It's a good job I'm free on Friday"

"Sounds good… Will you be wanting to stay again?"

"Will you be wanting me to stay again?" Piper challenged.

Alex chuckled before opening up to the blonde. "I've missed spooning with you"

"Ever since that night, I've felt so lonely in bed" Piper replied.

"So I'll take that as a yes you will be staying again?" Alex smirked as she asked.

"You should definitely take that as a yes I will be staying"

"I'm glad"

"Me too..." Piper said through a yawn.

"I'll let you get going sleepy head. Drop by my office and see me tomorrow when you are free"

"One hundred percent"

"Good night Piper"

"Night Al"

* * *

 **A/N: So that's Chapter 5 for you! My longest one yet… I hope you liked it! Next up we'll be jumping straight to the drinking games :)** **Any thoughts? Let me know X**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm so pleased with the response that I received from the last chapter! Thank you so much to every single person that reviewed, favorited or followed. I hope you enjoy Chapter 6 just as much.**

* * *

The second week of teaching at Litchfield High ran pretty easily for the blonde. She had finally settled in to a comfortable routine. Things between herself and Alex were still going very well. Piper had no idea what exactly was happening between the two of them but she knew that 100% it was something she wanted to pursue. On many occasions that week, Piper had made frequent visits to Alex's office. Having to pass through Lorna's reception area on the way, she had to come up with various different excuses as to why she needed to see the raven haired beauty. This happened that many times the blonde eventually gave up offering excuses. Lorna simply smirked each time she saw the blonde walking through the double doors and down the corridor leading to Alex's office, knowing full well what was going on.

During the middle of the week, Alex invited Piper out for dinner. The two women had the best time together. It was so pleasant for Piper to be able to go out in public with someone she liked and share an intellectual conversation whilst stealing small touches and kisses every so often.

Other than the one night during dinner and the minutes spent in Alex's office catching up each day, the blonde had hardly seen the older woman and so she couldn't wait for Friday night to arrive.

* * *

Once Friday eventually rolled around, it was pretty safe to say that the blonde had a spring in her step throughout the duration of the day. Truth be told, she couldn't wait to spend the night with Alex, Nicky and Lorna. She had grown to love their company and cherished every moment that she spent with them, whether it would be small conversations in school corridors or spending nights like tonight together.

As the clock struck 7pm, Alex wrapped her knuckles against the solid wood that made up Polly's apartment door.

The blonde strode over to the door in excitement and swung it open to greet Alex on the other side.

Standing there in a black leather jacket, a loose fitting t-shirt and some figure hugging black jeans, Alex held a rose between her teeth with a huge grin on her face.

Piper smiled at the sight. Moving her arm to remove the rose from the taller woman's mouth, she took it out gently and replaced the rose with her own lips. The pair of them smiled into the kiss.

"You know… you are so adorable sometimes"

"Only sometimes?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Don't push it" Piper pushed her slightly with a small smile.

"You look stunning" Alex said as she gave the blonde a quick once over.

"I'm only wearing ripped jeans and a top"

Alex bit her lip, shaking her head as she took a proper look at Piper's outfit this time. She made sure she took her time to take in every single detail.

"No… you look stunning"

"You're such a sap"

Alex shrugged in reply. "The blame is all yours for making me be this way"

Piper chuckled and turned on her heel. She began walking towards her bedroom whilst she was speaking over her shoulder, "I'll just grab my things and we can head out"

Alex nodded in response as she stepped inside Polly's apartment for the first time, waiting for the blonde to come back.

After a few minutes, Piper reappeared holding a large bag.

"And here's me thinking you were only staying the night" Alex teased

"I know it looks a lot" Piper looked down at the bag and chuckled. "But honestly, I've only brought a change of clothes for tomorrow and something to sleep in tonight"

"I'll let you off and assume you don't have the intention of taking advantage of my apartment for the whole weekend" Alex smirked.

"I am not!" Piper began to protest.

"I mean… it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I quite like having someone close to me on a night"

"Oh so you're just saying this so that I can keep your bed warm for you"

"Are you objecting?"

Piper let out a throaty laugh and shook her head. "Let's go"

* * *

During the ride to Alex's apartment, the pair of them held hands. Alex slowly rubbed circles across the back of the blonde's hand with her thumb. Piper was stealing innocent kisses every time they came to a red light.

Upon reaching the apartment, Piper greeted both Nicky and Lorna who were practically sitting on each other's lap on the same couch that they both slept on a week ago. As Alex took Pipers belongings to her bedroom, the blonde sat down on the other couch and noticed the other two women seemed very tipsy.

"I see you guys have started already?" Piper questioned, gesturing towards the bottles lying empty on the coffee table.

"You took far too long getting here blondie" Nicky replied as she began to pour out four shots.

Alex returned to the couch and sat fairly close to Piper, allowing one hand to rest on the blonde's thigh. Everyone picked up their shots and was about to throw it back before they were interrupted.

"WAIT" Nicky exclaimed.

"I think it's only right that we raise a toast?"

Lorna nodded and came up with a suggestion "New beginnings?"

All four women repeated Lorna's words with a smirk and downed their shot, slamming the glasses back down on the table. As the liquid flowed down their throats, leaving a burning sensation behind, a mixture of violent shaking of heads and releases of "Ahhh" could be heard throughout the apartment.

"What now?" Piper queried.

"Now blondie… we let the games commence" Nicky rubbed her hands together in delight.

"Never have I ever?" Lorna threw out yet another suggestion.

"Why not… great idea!"

Alex and Piper nodded in unison to show their agreement of the short brunette's recommendation.

"Oh I'm excited!" Lorna squealed.

Nicky poured each woman a fresh drink as they all waited in anticipation for her to start the game.

"Ok so… we'll go in a clockwise direction. Me, Lorna, Vause and then blondie. Oh and no shitty ones right? We're all adults here" Nicky smirked.

" _Never have I ever been caught having sex by a parent"_ Alex and Lorna drank.

" _Never have I ever been caught masturbating"_ Nicky, Alex and Piper drank.

Nicky wagged her eyebrows. "I'd never have seen you as someone to pleasure yourself blondie. I always thought you'd be a pillow princess and you maybe even hired someone to do it for you" she gave a wink.

Piper flipped her off in response.

" _Never have I ever had a fivesome"_ Nicky drank.

"You want to play it like that huh Vause?" Nicky said challengingly to which Alex gave a smirk.

Lorna interjected. "Who with?"

"Just some college chicks… It was the best time" Nicky smiled to herself as she reminisced.

" _Never have I ever made a sex tape"_ Alex took a large sip of her drink.

She noticed everyone else in the room looking on expectantly waiting for an explanation.

"What? We thought it would be hot"

"You and Sylvia?" Nicky asked.

"mm" Alex mumbled, not really wanting to speak about her ex-girlfriend at that time.

Piper feigned a normal expression but anyone in the room could she was trying her best not to let it falter. The blonde was quite shocked to say the least.

"MAN! I'd pay good money to see this sex tape. You still got it?" Nicky asked, becoming excited.

Alex shook her head as if to say no. "Move on" She demanded.

" _Never have I ever had sex on an aeroplane"_ Alex and Lorna drank.

Nicky raised her eyebrow in Lorna's direction. "You're part of the mile high club?"

Lorna began to blush as she nodded.

"We may have to revisit that…" Nicky trailed off as she let her thoughts run away with her.

" _Never have I ever had sex with my best friend"_

As Lorna said that statement, panic ran across Alex's face. She looked at Nicky in horror as Nicky simply began to laugh and chug her drink back. The taller woman also tipped her drink back and consumed a large gulp.

Piper sensed the hesitancy from Alex's side and looked between Alex and Nicky to observe the looks that they were sending each other's way.

Realisation hit her as she let out a large gasp. "You two didn't?!"

"NO" and "HELL YES" were both yelled out at the exact same time.

"Nickyyyyy" Alex looked down groaning.

Lorna looked across in surprise. "No way? I don't believe it!"

"No need to be embarrassed Vause. We all know you enjoyed it more than you're going to let on"

Alex sighed. "It was once. It was awkward. We were young and experimenting"

"I can't get my head around that you two…." Piper began, gesturing between the two best friends.

Alex looked at the blonde. "Don't say it. It's bad enough having the memory etched up here" She said, pointing to her brain.

"Vause loved it, she used to beg me for more but I never let her have her wicked way with me ever again after that" Nicky teased.

"I did not!" Alex screeched with wide eyes. "Fuck off Nicholls" Alex slumped down in her chair, annoyed at her best friend's behaviour.

"Cheer up stretch, it's your turn" Nicky reminded the tall brunette.

" _Never have I ever had sex on a first date"_ Piper and Nicky drank.

Lorna chuckled, "Oh you're full of surprises Piper"

" _Never have I ever licked food off someone during sex"_ Nicky, Lorna and Alex all drank.

"Piper Chapman… You don't know what you're missing out on" Nicky said, waggling her eyebrows.

The blonde looked at Alex who was sat right next to her nodding. Once Alex noticed the blonde staring, she shot a quick wink at the young blonde before returning to the game.

" _Never have I ever woken up to someone giving me head"_ Lorna and Alex drank.

Alex looked up at Piper skeptically.

"What?"

"Larry never…?" Alex enquired.

"No… He wasn't a really big fan of that" Piper replied looking down.

"Well what the fuck blondie. Your sex life sounded boring as hell" Nicky looked across with a shocked expression.

"You're in for a treat with Vause… I've heard all about her moves" Nicky continued, once again waggling her eyebrows at the young blonde.

Lorna slapped Nicky's arm as a warning to stop interfering.

Looking across at Alex, she held a dumbfounded expression. "What are you thinking?"

"I'll tell you later" Alex replied with a small mile.

"Lorna you're up"

" _Never have I ever had sex in the workplace"_ Alex drank.

"At Litch?" Piper raised her eyebrow in question.

Alex nodded her head with a smirk. "Many times"

" _Never have I ever squirted"_ Lorna drank as her face flushed crimson red.

"Just once" the small brunette mumbled.

"Well sweet baby Jesus…." Nicky looked at her in disbelief whilst carrying a smirk upon her face.

" _Never have I ever done a strip tease"_ Lorna drank once more.

Nicky flashed a wide grin at Lorna. "Something else that must be arranged"

Nicky was up next and she seemed to consider her next statement for quite a while. She eventually thought of one as a slight sneer appeared on her face as she looked Alex dead in the eye when speaking.

" _Never have I ever used a house hold item as a sex toy"_

Alex shook her head in disbelief. She was contemplating not drinking at all and hoped that Nicky would allow it to drop but knowing her best friend as much as she did, that was never going to happen.

"Drink up Vause"

Piper and Lorna stared at Alex with wide eyes.

"What was it?" The blonde questioned

"How do you know!?" Lorna fired her own question in the way of Nicky.

Alex looked down embarrassed, not really wanting to approach the subject.

"One day I came home from work really early and Vause here had been away on a little trip. Little did I know that she had returned home that morning? So I walked in to the apartment innocently and there she was on the couch." Nicky giggled at the memory

"There she was on the couch with a giant-"

"NICKY!" Alex shouted.

"There really is no need to carry on with that story is there?" At this point the taller brunette was crimson red and hiding behind both of her hands.

Piper couldn't help but laugh at the situation. She pulled Alex closer and enveloped her in a hug.

"Fine Vause I'll just tell them both when you're not around" Nicky continued laughing.

"Right ok… enough with embarrassing her. It's my turn!" Lorna intervened

" _Never have I ever watched porn with someone else"_ Alex and Nicky both drank simultaneously.

Lorna began laughing and in a joking manner said, "Let me guess… You two watched it together"

She and Piper were both waiting for the two women to disagree but it never came.

"What?!" Exclaimed Lorna. "Why? When?"

"We'll leave that story for another day" Nicky chuckled with a shake of her head.

Piper and Lorna both gave each other a look but disregarded the confession as Alex interrupted and moved the game on.

" _Never have I ever stroked a colleague's leg under the dinner table thinking it was someone else"_

At this, the blonde erupted in laughter and seemed to pat Alex on her back. This was a light bit of revenge against Nicky due to the revelations she had made Alex come out with earlier.

Nicky hadn't clicked on at all and was waiting around for someone to say something.

"Well… Drink up Nicholls!" Alex said waving her drink in front of her face.

"I haven't done that?" Nicky replied with a furrowed brow.

Piper coughed as she prepared herself to tell Nicky what had happened the week before.

"So… you know when we both came round for dinner last week. And once we started eating you began to stroke up and down my leg thinking I was Lorna…."

"YOU DIDN'T?!" Lorna exclaimed as she began to giggle.

"No fucking way" Nicky looked in complete shock.

Her face began to flush red as all three women in the room were collapsed in laughter at her own expense.

"Jesus….." Nicky drew out the word as she realised she had made a fool out of herself.

"You probably enjoyed it though blondie" Nicky thought she had better make light of the situation so that they could change the subject quickly.

"In your dreams"

"Anyway Chapman there is no way you drank enough in that game. You haven't half lived a sheltered life!"

"I know…" The blonde murmured.

"Vause you have got to show her some things!" Nicky said which made the blonde blush furiously.

"Stop teasing her Nick" Alex warned her best friend before bringing Piper into a cuddle.

As that game seemed to have come to a close, the four women decided that they would play a few rounds of strip poker. Fortunately for Nicky, Lorna had lost the majority of her rounds and if she had lost a couple more she would be completely stark naked. Once the game had reached a certain point, Nicky excused herself and Lorna and retreated back to her own bedroom.

"Well that was fun" Piper smirked

"That was very fun indeed"

"Can we go to bed? I'm so tired" The blonde let out in between yawning.

"Of course, come on"

The pair of them got ready for bed and into the exact same position they slept in the last time they shared this bed together.

"I enjoy this, way, way too much" Alex smiled as she snuggled even closer to the blonde.

"Me too… This may sound weird but it makes me feel safe"

Alex placed a gentle kiss on the back of the blonde's neck.

Piper perceived that her boss' lack of verbal response was due to tiredness. However, the blonde had a lot running through her mind that she wanted to get off her chest.

"Al… are you still awake?" Piper whispered.

"Yeah" Came the tired reply of the taller woman that lay behind her.

"What Nicky said earlier… you know about me living a sheltered life and all"

"Oh just ignore her. She doesn't know what she's talking about when she's like that"

"No, it's ok. I mean she was right"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" Piper confirmed. "It was one factor why I split up with Larry. I wanted adventure. To try new things you know?"

"I totally get that" Alex nodded to show she understood.

Piper turned around so that she was now facing the brunette.

"Maybe… I could try new things with you?" Piper asked.

Alex opened her eyes at Piper's question. "You would be up for that?"

"Well yeah… if that's what you wanted as well"

"Of course, there's nothing else I would rather do"

Piper didn't say anything else from there, she stared into space, deep in thought.

Alex studied the blonde's face for a moment. "What are you thinking about?"

Piper looked in to Alex's eyes and swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"Us. You. Sylvia"

"Sylvia?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah"

"What about her Pipes?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that I don't like her but… sometimes I let my thoughts get way ahead of me and I get kind of jealous when I think about you two"

"Pipes…" Alex took the blonde's hand in her own, interlinking their fingers.

"I'm stupid right? You're not even mine to be jealous of."

"There isn't a "me and Sylvia" anymore… there hasn't been for a long time. You don't have anything to be jealous or worried about"

The blonde smiled, satisfied with Alex's response.

"I like you"

"I like you too Al"

"Look… I'm not interested in seeing anyone else right now. I enjoy your company and I just want to see where this leads us"

"So what? I can say that we are dating for now?"

"I'd like that very much"

The pair smiled like idiots before kissing passionately. Alex began to seek dominance, begging for entrance into Piper's mouth with her tongue but their little moment was interrupted by some noisy moans penetrating through the apartment.

Piper broke away and sat up for a second, listening to the sounds.

"You have got to be kidding me" Piper looked at Alex in horror.

Alex laughed at Piper's response.

"It's so not funny. Don't laugh!" The blonde exclaimed as she playfully slapped Alex.

"Oh the joys of living with your sex crazed best friend" Alex rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Do I really have to be made to listen to this for the whole duration?" Piper complained as the moans got louder and louder.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do something!" Piper demanded.

"I'm definitely not going in there interrupting. I'll never hear the last of it!"

"Ughhh..." Piper laid back down on the bed again, throwing a pillow over ears in order to drown the sound out.

"I think it's about time I made Nicky find her own place to live"

"Maybe that would be for the best" Piper smirked.

The raven haired beauty seemed to lay and think for quite some time as the moaning never seemed to ease. She stared over at the blonde who was still attempting to drown the noise out.

"Do you trust me?" Alex questioned with a playful expression.

"Umm… yes"

"I can think of one way which may make them be quiet"

"Oh anything! Please do it!" Piper exclaimed, removing the pillow from her face, wondering what Alex was planning.

Without any warning signs, Alex let out the loudest moan of pleasure that the blonde had ever heard in her life.

Piper looked at Alex in shock with her mouth agape. "What are you doing?!"

"Trust me" Alex smirked before letting out yet another series of moans.

"OH… OH… OH PIPER"

The blonde snickered as she realised what Alex was doing.

"OH YEAH FUCK"

Alex encouraged Piper to join in with the moaning.

"RIGHT THERE…. RIGHT THERE…. OH OH OH YES! YES!" Alex continued moaning.

Hearing these moans slip through her boss' mouth turned the blonde on.

"OH... OHH... YOU FEEL SO GOOD!" Piper moaned.

Alex gave the blonde a thumbs up as it seemed that she was very impressed with Piper's participation.

The pair of them couldn't help but falling into a fit of giggles at the whole situation.

Mixtures of "OHHH" and "FUCK"'s were let out for several minutes.

Suddenly, Alex moaned out something that Piper didn't expect for one minute.

"OH FASTER, FASTER. YES RIGHT THERE... RIGHT THERE…. OHHHHH PIPER IM COMING. IM COMING"

Alex had an amused expression on her face as she waited a couple of seconds before screaming out Piper's name.

Piper looked on at Alex and found it incredibly sexy. She would be lying if she said that there wasn't a pool of wetness that had formed on her underwear.

Once their laughter had died down and quietness filled the space. Alex spoke up… "I thought that would do the trick"

"You and your brilliant ideas" Piper leaned forward to kiss the brunette.

"Nicky's totally going to be pleading me for details tomorrow"

"Make it sound hot?" Piper requested.

"Always" Alex grinned at Piper's words as she leaned in for a final kiss that night.

"So I can finally sleep now… yessss!" The blonde fist pumped the air.

Alex laughed before allowing Piper to return back to her position from earlier that night. Swinging an arm around the blonde's waist, they snuggled together until they both fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The morning after, Piper awoke to the sun streaming through the blinds and the sound of birds chirping in the trees outside. To say she was feeling gratified with her current situation would be a massive understatement. As she lay there thinking about the night before, she felt the brunette beside her stir from her sleep.

Alex's arms flew out into the air and her body jolted forward as she allowed herself to stretch out and make her back crack. Breathing out in pleasure, she opened her eyes to find that the blonde was already awake.

"Morning Pipes"

"Morning" Piper smiled directly at the older woman.

"Did you sleep well?"

Piper nodded in response.

"Hey Al… Last night you said you would tell me what you were thinking so deeply about out there during the game?"

The raven haired beauty sighed.

The blonde moved position so that she was facing Alex and could get a good view of her as she spoke.

"Many things…" Alex swallowed. "The whole thing that came up with Sylvia… I didn't want it to put you off. It's not exactly the nicest thing hearing someone you like speak about things they did with their ex."

"If you think that's enough to put me off. You've got me all wrong" Piper smiled, stroking Alex's cheek reassuringly.

Alex returned the smile. "Sometimes I wish that Nicky had a mute button"

"She isn't that bad really…"

"She really irritated me last night you know… when she was saying those things to you"

"Why? It's no big deal." Piper tried to reason with a shrug.

"It just made me feel kind of sad. It sounds like your relationship with Larry wasn't exactly the most exciting. You're a kind, wonderful, intelligent, beautiful woman and you deserve to be treated that way."

"It was ok… he bought me gifts and things sometimes." The blonde replied with a frown.

Alex sat up so that she could come across as serious.

"Someone like you shouldn't have to settle for an ok relationship. You deserve so much more"

"I know that sex isn't what the whole relationship is about but it's definitely plays a big part. It seems to me that Larry didn't appreciate you anywhere near enough as he should have done. Maybe he was just after a quick romp to get himself off… but women have needs too Pipes"

Piper nodded, she knew that Alex's words were 100% true.

Alex began to stroke Piper's arm with a sad smile sporting her face.

"It's such a beautiful thing when two people can share such a mutual connection and it be so meaningful to both parties"

Piper nodded once more, gazing into her bosses eyes.

"He should have treasured every single piece of your body… treated you like a fucking queen" Alex let out a low chuckle at her words.

Silence filled the room before Alex spoke up again. Blue eyes were melting into green.

"Let me treat you like a queen…." Alex requested.

The blonde didn't answer Alex. She leaned forward and captured her boss's lips within her own. The kiss was becoming frantic and desperate. Tongues were battling for dominance and the air in the room became much, much hotter.

Alex wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist and showed her strength by flipping the blonde beneath her.

The brunette set to work on leaving soft, gentle kisses up and down the blonde's neck. As she did so, she let her right hand trail down the length of Piper's torso. She found the hem of the blonde's t-shirt and snuck her hand underneath it. Alex began to trace light circles over her skin, leaving goose pimples behind, showing the effect she had on the blonde.

Alex lifted Piper's top up and removed the item of clothing before throwing it on the floor. The older woman had a huge grin on her face as she realised that Piper hadn't been wearing a bra.

The brunette left a trail of kisses from the blonde's neck and down her chest, stopping when she came level with the young blonde's breasts.

Alex spent sufficient time sucking each of Piper's nipples and giving hard flicks with her tongue to tease the blonde. Soft moans could be heard from under Piper's breath and her hips jolted ever so slightly as she eagerly anticipated more contact.

Once Alex was satisfied with her job on Piper's breasts, she began to leave yet another trail of kisses leading from the blonde's tits down her stomach and on to her thighs.

The brunette teased the blonde by ever so slowly leaving many kisses on either one of her thighs, slowly building up to the place where Piper needed her the most.

"Alex" Piper groaned in frustration.

Alex began to place gentle kisses on top of Piper's sex over her underwear. The older woman could smell Piper and god, she smelt delicious. This only turned the brunette on even more.

The bucking of Piper's hips became much more frequent so Alex decided she would speed things up a little and remove the blonde's underwear.

Alex took a couple of minutes to take in the sight that lay before her. "Fuck… you are beautiful"

"Please Alex" Piper groaned.

"Please what Pipes?"

"Please fuck me" The blonde demanded.

"Your wish is my command" Alex smirked.

Alex carried out one, slow stroke through the blonde's folds with her tongue.

"Damn… you are so wet"

Alex made another lap of Piper's pussy, this time with a little bit more pressure.

"Fuck" Piper moaned out.

Alex continued with her movements several more times as Pipers hips bucked involuntarily as she craved more friction.

Without any warning, the brunette plunged two fingers into the blonde's tight hole.

Piper's breath hitched in her throat at the sudden contact as she screamed out in pleasure. "Oh my god"

"Fuck Pipes… you are so tight"

The brunette's words turned Piper on even more.

Alex soon found a rhythm suited to the blonde. She was pumping in and out of the blonde fairly quickly, curling her fingers in every other thrust. At the same time she was frantically licking and sucking away at Piper's hardened nub.

The blonde was panting so loudly at this point and screaming out Alex's name.

Alex could feel Piper's walls beginning to contract around her fingers and so began to speed up her actions.

"Oh fuck Alex…. Right there!"

Piper's words encouraged Alex and so she sped up even further, becoming even harder with her movements.

"IM COMING… IM COMING… IM COM- ALEX ALEXXX" Piper screamed out as she reached her climax.

Alex thrusted in and out of Piper for a few more moments as she let the blonde ride her orgasm out.

Once the brunette had lapped up all of the blonde's juices, she returned to the top of the bed to kiss the blonde.

Piper was still panting, coming down from her high "Oh my god."

"Horrible wasn't it?" Alex questioned with a smirk.

"The worst" Piper replied as she leaned in for yet another kiss. "You're really bad at that"

"Can I do you?" The blonde questioned.

Alex let out a chuckle. "You don't have to ask"

Piper swallowed the lump in her throat. "I've never really...-"

"Gone down on a woman before?"

Piper looked away as she contemplated denying it. She shook her head "I mean no..."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What kind of a lesbian are you?"

"The boob touching kind" Piper replied to which Alex smirked once again.

"All right well… Are you ready to take the plunge, so to speak?"

"Are you gonna coach me through it? Piper questioned.

"Yeah" Alex replied as she captured the blonde's lips in yet another kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This update would have been up last week but me being my clumsy self, I dropped my mac while moving into my uni accommodation so its been in repair ever since. However, it's fixed now and i'm pretty sure that Piper is ready to take the plunge. ;-)**

* * *

The blonde shifted herself so that she was now towering over Alex.

She began to pepper the brunette with wet, open mouthed kisses. She left a trail all the way down Alex's neck and chest until she found Alex's breasts. Piper enveloped her lips around one of her bosses nipples and let out a slight moan at the feeling of the hardened nub. Piper spent a sufficient time on each breast, ensuring that Alex was fully satisfied.

Once she was certain that she had done a good job with Alex's breasts, she moved further down, leaving slight kisses and nibbles along the brunettes soft, creamy skin as she did so.

Alex could sense a slight hesitancy radiating from the blonde as she traveled further south.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alex asked attentively.

However, the blonde didn't reply and dove straight into Alex's folds with her tongue.

The sudden movement from the blonde came as a shock to the brunette that she let out an instant moan with pleasure.

Piper experimented for a short while, trying to figure out what Alex reacted to the most.

Once she had this figured out, she began to give long, strong licks up and down Alex's sex and draw figure of eights around the brunette's swollen, pulsating clit.

Alex was letting out uncontrollably loud moans every few seconds or so as she began to come closer and closer, but this wasn't enough.

"More Pipes" Alex begged in desperation through moans.

The blonde didn't need to be asked twice. Alex was dripping wet and so she plunged two fingers straight into the brunette's hole.

"FUCK" Alex moaned out at the sensation.

Piper began to thrust in and out of the brunette at such a hard and fast pace while continuing to give slight licks to Alex's clit.

Alex's moans were becoming more and more frequent. Her finger's were grabbing the bed sheets surrounding her critically.

The blonde continued to thrust in and out of Alex, curling her fingers in order to hit the brunette's ever so sensitive g spot.

"FUCK. I'M GONNA COME" Alex screamed out. "DON'T STOP"

These frantic moans were spurring Piper on more and more.

Suddenly the brunette's walls clamped around the blonde's fingers and a gush of cum poured out of Alex into Piper's hand.

"OH FUCK" Alex breathed out in between moans.

Piper pulled her fingers out of Alex's pussy and she examined her cum coated hand.

"You came hard huh?" She gave a slight smirk in her bosses direction before licking her own hand clean.

"Jesus Christ" Alex moaned out at the sight. "Are you sure that was your first time?"

"Was it ok?" Piper asked skeptically.

"Ok? Are you kidding me? You're a natural" Alex replied with a smirk.

"I aim to please"

"And please you did" Alex replied whilst leaning in for a kiss.

The pair of women were interrupted by a loud banging on the bedroom door.

"Some people are trying to sleep you know!" Nicky shouted

Alex opened both eyes widely. "She can talk after last nights performance"

The blonde giggled. "Maybe we should get out of bed"

"Maybe I want you to stay put" Alex said, pulling the blonde closer. "All... day... long" she dragged out.

"Maybe I want to go for a morning run"

"Maybe I could help you with your exercise this morning?" Alex raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"As appealing as that is... i'd rather not put on yet another performance for Nicky"

Alex sighed in response. "Ugh, she's such a cock block"

Piper smirked, peeling back the covers before touching both hers and Alex's pussy and then pulling her hand away.

"What was that?" The brunette questioned.

"Just checking that I was right in thinking that neither of us have a penis"

Alex let out a throaty laugh. "Smart ass. You know what i meant"

Piper planted a small kiss on the taller woman's lips before rising from the bed. "So i'm going to go for a run and then maybe we could go get breakfast?"

"Sounds great"

"Ok, i'll be 45 minutes or so" Piper spoke through rooting in her back and pulling out a pair of black leggings.

Once she had pulled on her clothes, the blonde turned around to see Alex staring at her with a mouth watering grin upon her face.

"Can I help you miss Vause?" The blonde raised an eyebrow in question.

Alex bit her lip as she took in the full length of Piper's body. "I'm not sure I should let you leave the apartment in those. People may take advantage..."

"Would you like to take advantage?"

The brunette jumped out of bed and embraced the blonde, throwing her own hands around Piper's back and on to her ass, giving a slight squeeze.

"Do you even have to ask?" Alex replied before pulling the blonde in to a heated kiss.

"mm.." Piper moaned as the kiss became desperate and the two women were battling for dominance.

Eventually the pair withdrew from each other breathless.

"Fuck." Alex moaned "Is it really necessary to go and run right now?"

"It really is" The blonde replied before offering a quick peck of the brunette's lips.

"I'll be back soon" she stated before exiting the room, ensuring she wiggled her bum on the way out for the brunette's benefit.

"TEASE!" Alex shouted after her, to which the blonde chuckled in response.

Several moments later, the brunette finally decided it was time to leave the safety net of her own bedroom and retreated into the rest of the apartment. Upon reaching the living room, she spotted Nicky sat on the couch nursing a cup of coffee.

"Nicholls" Alex greeted her best friend in a happy tone, plopping down on the couch.

"Vause" Nicky replied grumpily.

"What's up with you? I thought you'd be raving like a mad man after the action you got last night"

"ALL THE ACTION I GOT?!" Nicky asked wide eyed which earned a slight chuckle from Alex.

"You do realise that after hearing the pair of you last night, Lorna was that turned off her nipples became inverted!"

Alex laughed at her best friend's statement. "If that's happening then I can guarantee you're not doing something right. You need any tips? Let me know"

Nicky grabbed a cushion and threw it in the taller woman's direction. "Asshole"

"So where is she anyway?" Alex asked, referring to the receptionist.

"Shower"

The brunette nodded in acknowledgement. "So we're going to head out for breakfast once Piper gets back from her run if you two want to join us?"

"Yeah nice one" Nicky replied.

"And while I've got you on my own..." Alex started, turning in her seat to face Nicky. "What the hell was all that about last night?"

Nicky laughed at the memory. "It was just a laugh Vause"

"Well I didn't find it very funny. You know maybe you should think before you speak in the future" Alex said with an annoyed expression.

"What's wrong? Scared i'll say something that will put blondie off?"

The brunette shrugged in response.

"You can't be serious? That one is smitten"

"You really think?"

Nicky nodded with a serious expression. "It's written all over her face"

"Hmm.." Alex seemed to ponder Nicky's words for quite a while.

"I hope you're right... I'm going to get changed Nick" and with that Alex retreated to her bedroom in order to get ready for breakfast.

* * *

Shortly before 10am all four women arrived at the cafe down the road from Alex and Nicky's apartment. They placed their orders at the counter before sitting down at a table for four. Their places at the table were the exact same as the night that Alex cooked dinner for the other three women. Realisation of this hit Alex as she let out a small giggle to herself.

"No rubbing your foot along Piper's leg today Nicholls" Alex said with a stern look.

Nicky seemed to become embarrassed by her best friend's words and threw her head in her hands. "Can't you just drop it!" She pleaded

"Never. It's absolute gold" Alex teased back.

Lorna couldn't help but smirk at Nicky's reaction. She tried to remove Nicky's hands from her face but she was unsuccessful.

"Aw, look at you getting all embarrassed" she mocked.

"STOP!" Nicky cried out, batting away Lorna's hands.

"You put yourself in this situation Nick"

Alex, Piper and Lorna were all laughing loudly at Nicky's expense. They were so wrapped up in the moment that they didn't notice that someone was now stood at the end of the table.

The women were interrupted by an awkward coughing in bid to gain their attention.

As it dawned on them who was stood at the table, they all sighed in frustration.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked annoyed.

"I could ask you all the same thing" Sylvia shot back, eyeing up all four women.

"We're getting breakfast..." Lorna replied.

"Oh well... This is unusual" Sylvia said with a confused expression.

"What is?" Alex questioned.

"You four having breakfast together on a Saturday morning" She eyed her watch. "At this time"

The women sat around the table seemed to look at each other, waiting for someone to take charge and speak up.

"Why is it so unusual for me to have breakfast with my girlfriend and our friends?" Lorna piped up quizzically.

At hearing the word girlfriend, Alex turned around in her seat with wide eyes in Nicky's direction. "Girlfriend?" she repeated.

Nicky smirked and waggled her eyebrows.

The brunette nudged her best friend in the ribs with her elbow a couple of times while offering a knowing smirk.

"What? So you two are together?"

"Yes we are" Lorna replied with a sincere smile, moving to entwine her own hand with Nicky's.

Sylvia nodded and silence poured over all five women as they registered what was going on. She still maintained a confused expression as it seemed the cogs were still working fearlessly in her head.

"Have I interrupted a double date?" Sylvia asked suddenly, in only Alex's direction.

The taller woman sighed in defeat, she glanced at the blonde before beginning to speak.

"Me and Piper are-"

Alex was interrupted unexpectedly by the blonde.

"No, you haven't interrupted anything. Alex and I are just friends" Piper injected with a small smile.

Alex, Lorna and Nicky all looked on at Piper with disbelief. Nobody could work out why Piper had said what she just had.

Piper had her own reasons for denying anything going on between her and her boss. Of course she wanted to openly admit that her and Alex were dating but in the current situation it didn't seem like the right time, especially after being faced with Alex's fiery ex girlfriend. As well as this, she didn't want the revelation to affect the way that she was treated within the school. Piper had a sudden dislike for Sylvia from the moment that she met her, but she wouldn't allow herself to give the head of the English department any reason to be aggravated with her. For these reasons only she decided to keep the peace between herself and Sylvia which meant if she had to lie about herself and Alex, then she would.

The only person around that table that seemed to be content with the blonde's response was of course Sylvia. She blew out a sigh of relief at the thought of Alex still not having anyone else.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you... I mean it would be a shame to go home and eat this alone while I could sit here and catch up with you guys and get to know my new colleague better?" Sylvia said to anyone listening.

"Nope that's it, you invite yourself" Nicky replied with a serious expression, which earned her a slight kick underneath the table from her girlfriend.

"That's ok, grab a chair" Piper told Sylvia with a genuine smile.

"Thank you" The brunette muttered as she turned around to locate a free chair.

Whilst her ex girlfriend's back was turned, Alex stared right through Piper with a look of anger on her face.

"What?" Piper muttered, crossing her arms and sighing.

"Nice move Chapman" Nicky shot across the table.

Alex didn't have time to talk of her displeasure of Piper allowing Sylvia to join them as her ex girlfriend soon returned to the table and placed a chair down in between Alex and Piper at the end of the table.

All five women began to eat in silence. To say the atmosphere was awkward would be a major understatement. Sneaky glances would be passed across the table every now and again as the women wondered who would be the first to speak up. Piper could sense the annoyance radiating from her colleagues but she knew that she had no other choice than to kill Sylvia with kindness.

"It's been a long time since we did this"

"What?" Alex enquired.

"Had breakfast together"

The raven haired woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah" she mumbled, hoping and praying that the conversation wouldn't go any further.

"I wonder why" Nicky piped up which produced a death glare from Sylvia.

"Sorry, what has any of this got to do with you?"

Nicky threw her sandwich down on her plate, rubbing her hands together to rid of the crumbs before she spoke up again. "It has everything to do with me when you were the reason that Vause felt the lowest she had ever felt in her life and didn't leave the apartment for weeks!"

"I apologised didn't I!" Sylvia shot back defensively.

"Like an apology is going to make her forgive you for being a cheating scumbag!"

"This probably isn't the best time" Piper muttered, feeling ever so awkward.

"No it's ok Piper"

"Why do you always do this?" Nicky raked her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Every single time you see Vause, you always bring up your relationship. Why can't you just let it drop and get over the fact that she obviously doesn't love you anymore!"

Sylvia shook her head in disagreement. "Tell her Ally" She placed her hand over the top of Alex's and squeezed.

"Tell her that you still love me" Sylvia pleaded.

Alex slowly removed her hand from the grip of her ex girlfriends and chuckled in disbelief at the situation. "I don't"

"See! I think you should leave now" Nicky pointed towards the door in desperation.

Sylvia seemed to have zoned everyone else out by now and concentrated solely on her ex girlfriend's face. "Please" she whispered.

Alex gave no answer and only looked down at the floor, feeling very uncomfortable. The lack of reaction from Alex seemed to only frustrate Sylvia more.

"Why did you agree to meet me last weekend then?"

At hearing the question, Piper's eyes shot up from her fixed trance on the floor. A look of confusion ran across her face.

"Did you Vause?"

Alex raked her own hands through her hair. She couldn't bring herself to meet anyone's eyes. "We didn't meet. It was never my intention"

Piper couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, without thinking she interrupted. "You said you were with your sick mom"

Sylvia let out a low chuckle. "I got the same excuse!"

"Fuck you it wasn't an excuse!" Alex retorted.

"So why would you make the plans if you weren't going to show up?"

Alex sighed once again, not really knowing how to answer.

Piper shook her head. She couldn't get her head around the fact that Alex had arranged to meet her ex girlfriend even though she had openly admitted that she had liked her.

"Pipes..." Alex finally looked up and begged the blonde to look at her.

The blonde swallowed the lump forming in her throat before speaking. "I had better get going, Polly's waiting for me to get back so that we can go shopping" She gave a small smile while reeling off the quickest lie that came to her mind. Piper quickly stood up and fished in her purse before throwing some cash on the table.

"I'll see you all on Monday" she offered to almost anybody and bolted for the exit.

Both Alex and Lorna could be heard calling after the blonde but she couldn't turn around and face them. Piper wasn't quite sure of Alex's intentions. All she knew is that they were now dating but Sylvia was still under the impression that she had a chance with Alex. Piper's head was a complete mess and she needed to escape the drama as quickly as possible.

* * *

Upon reaching Polly's apartment, the blonde crossed the threshold and slammed the door behind her.

"Were you planning to take that off its hinges?" Polly shouted from the couch.

Piper plopped down beside her best friend and leaned her head back with an exaggerated sigh.

"Talk to me" Polly demanded.

"I don't even know where to start"

"The beginning"

Piper took a few deep breaths before curling one leg underneath herself and turning in her seat to face the brunette.

"So last night was so good, like really fucking good. I love being in their company, i was so happy. And then this morning Alex and I woke up and put all of our cards on the table, she said things to me that nobody else has ever said, we even said that we would tell people that we are dating. She makes me so happy Pol..."

"But...?"

"Wait for it... So anyway, we took things a step further." Piper said with a smile which earned a little squeal from her best friend.

"Everything was going fine, I went out for a run and then once i got back we all headed out for breakfast at the local cafe. We were having such a laugh but then Sylvia turned up"

"Oh god" Polly let out with a slight groan.

"Now this is where I fucked up" Piper winced at the thought.

"She asked if she had interrupted a double date and I denied everything between me and Alex. I told her that we were just friends" The blonde threw her head in her hands.

"You did what?! Why?"

"I only said that because I didn't want Sylvia to treat me any differently at work. If she knew i was fucking her ex girlfriend, god knows how she would act. She seems like such a psycho ex girlfriend and i really don't want to push her buttons."

"Fuck..."

"Yeah... and then it gets worse."

Polly raised her eyebrows in suspense.

"So basically, Sylvia brings up their relationship and Nicky sticks up for Alex which didn't go down well at all. She then practically begged Alex to tell her she loved her and then when she didn't she asked why Alex had arranged to meet her last weekend if she didn't still love her..."

"WHAT? No way..."

"Yeah." The blonde nodded. "And she didn't even say anything which makes it so much worse"

"Talk about a head fuck"

"I just cant understand why Alex would arrange to meet her if she didn't want to be with her anymore?"

"What if you've got the wrong end of the stick Pipes? You should probably call her to talk things through"

"I don't know if I can" Piper sighed in defeat.

The brunette chuckled. "You silly lesbian"

Piper narrowed her eyes before jabbing her best friend in the ribs.

"Look... It's a Saturday, why don't we go out tonight just like old times?"

The blonde thought about declining Polly's invitation, but once she thought about it she knew it wasn't a bad idea at all.

"Yeah ok" she smiled sincerely.

"Great!"

* * *

As soon as Piper had left the cafe, both Nicky and Alex retreated back to the confines of their own apartment.

Alex slumped down on the couch in silence, milling over the events that had just happened.

"I've always hated that bitch" Nicky let out in anger.

The raven haired beauty didn't respond which triggered Nicky to speak again.

"Vause... why did you arrange to meet her?"

Alex shrugged. "Just so that we could speak, she truly believes there's still something worth holding on to. I need her to let go so that I can move on properly without her pining after me every chance she gets..."

"You should've told Piper that, she's probably thinking the worst" Nicky tried to reason.

"You know me. I don't know how to deal with these kinds of things"

"So let me give you a bit of advice... Call Piper" Nicky grabbed her best friend's phone that had been thrown on the coffee table and allowed it to drop on the taller woman's lap.

"I don't know what to say Nick"

"Tell her how you feel, man up" Nicky offered a grin.

Alex played with the device for several minutes, passing it between both hands. She debated whether to call the blonde or not but eventually decided on texting her. That way she knew Piper would definitely read her message.

 _ **TO PIPER:**_

 _ **Hi Pipes,**_

 _ **I can assure you that it's not what you think, please call me to let me explain. X**_

Hearing the sound signalling the message being sent, Nicky spoke up.

"So you couldn't man up after all huh?"

"What would you know about that huh girlfriend?" Alex teased.

"Don't be jealous now Vause"

Alex chuckled. "Whatever"

"How about we go grab some drinks tonight? We can invite Taystee, Boo, P, you know... all the usual crazy kids?"

"Hmm... Yeah I think that sounds like a good idea" Alex nodded in agreement.

* * *

Around 10pm that night, both Nicky and Alex arrived at the club. Once they had gained entry, they located their friends sat within a booth and ordered drink after drink. The drinks continued flowing but everything grinded to a halt when Nicky hollered at Alex.

"VAUSE"

"What?" Alex replied quizzically

"Isn't that Chapman over there at the bar?" She pointed in the direction of two women sat chatting over drinks.

Alex squinted her eyes as she attempted to zone in on the blonde figure propping up the bar.

"Shit yeah it is" The brunette sighed.

"Well what are ya waiting for? Get over there!" Nicky tried to pull her best friend out of her seat but was unsuccessful when Alex shifted her weight so that it was practically impossible to move her.

"Wait" Alex held her hand up to stop Nicky. "She didn't even text me back, I bet i'm the last person she wants to see right now"

"Vause come on, this is a perfect opportunity to speak to her. Now get up and go get your girl" Nicky attempted to move her best friend once again, proving successful this time.

Now that the raven haired woman was stood on her feet, she had no choice other than to saunter her way over to Piper.

Luckily by the time she had reached the two women, Polly was concentrated on her phone and Piper was staring in a completely different direction. This gave Alex the time to get into position next to the blonde before she was even aware of her bosses presence.

Being so close to the blonde filled Alex with such anxiety. She swallowed the lump in her throat before beginning to speak.

"It's a little cold out for a margarita, don't you think?"

The blonde turned around in shock, gasping upon seeing who the voice belonged to.

"Alex..." she whispered.

"Hey Pipes" Alex offered a small smile.

"Umm... should I leave you guys to it?" Polly interrupted.

Piper turned back to face her best friend before mouthing the words "please" with a slight smile to which the brunette nodded in acknowledgement.

"Umm Nicky's over there with some of the other girls if you want to join us?" Alex pointed in the direction of the booth she had just came from.

Polly looked over to identify where Alex was pointing. Once she had laid eyes on the other women she nodded once more before picking up her own drink and making her way over to the booth.

The blonde waited until her best friend was out of ear shot before she finally turned back around to face her boss.

"I'm sorry" the blonde blurted out.

Alex raised an eyebrow in shock and began to shake her head. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Lying about us... this" she stated pointing between the pair of them.

Alex sighed, placing a hand upon the blonde's shoulder. "It's fine. I get it" she shrugged.

"I know we said we would tell people that we were dating but that didn't seem like the right time. Sylvie is your ex Alex and I have no idea how this will affect the way i'm treated at work"

"I understand that Pipes... Look, all that earlier, it wasn't the way she made it sound." Alex sighed in defeat. "Ok, yes I did arrange to meet Sylvie but it wasn't in the way that either of you think. I need to speak to her Pipes, I need her to finally let go of this. She's still holding on to something and It's like I cannot carry on with my life because she's weighing me down."

Piper nodded, urging the brunette to go on.

"I meant what I said to you, I want this, I want to date you and only you." Alex said with a sincere smile, one that the blonde matched.

"We're stupid aren't we?" The blonde chuckled.

Alex nodded in response. "I don't really do relationships, Sylvia was my first real girlfriend. Before her all I did was sleep around. I don't know the rules, but i'm willing to learn Piper"

The blonde smiled. "Sometimes... rules are meant to be broken." She pulled the taller woman down to her height so that she could plant a kiss on her lips.

Alex giggled. "Not in our profession Pipes"

Piper slapped the taller woman's arm playfully. "Or punishments are given out, right?"

"Definitely" Alex moaned as she captured the blonde's lips in yet another kiss.

After breaking away, the blonde looked down as if she were in deep thought.

"So... I believe that it's only right that we take each other out on some dates"

"You have got yourself a deal" Alex smiled as she wrapped her arms around the young blonde's waist, placing a kiss on the soft skin of Piper's forehead.

* * *

 **A/N: The next couple of chapters will contain some dates. I'm wanting them to be fun and drama free after all of this commotion with the crazy ex! If anyone has any idea's, hit me up:)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm back! I'm well and truly sorry for the delay. Assessments, exams and life got in the way. Not sure how many of you actually care but I promise I'm back for good now. So, you can expect regular updates! I know that this isn't any where near as long as my other chapters but i was so desperate to get something written up. Future chapters will be back to their usual length for sure!**

* * *

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to be going much better for the pair. They had been going out on dates at least twice a week and Sylvia had managed to kept her distance, much to Alex's delight.

At 6:45 AM on a gloomy October's Monday morning, the pair were startled by the sound of the alarm clock ringing from above Alex's solid oak bed side table.

"Ughhhhh"

"Shut that thing off"

Alex lazily threw her arm across to the bed side table, fumbling in hope to locate the off switch. A sigh of relief could be heard from both parties as the violent ringing died out.

"I don't have the energy for this today" Piper groaned as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

Alex hummed in response. "Would that be my fault by any chance?"

A blush creeped up the blonde's face as she recollected the memories of the night before.

Alex strained open an eye to look at the blonde due to her lack of response. With a smirk she said "Your face says it all"

"Shut up and join me in the shower before we are late" Piper demanded.

"Your wish is my command"

The pair rushed off to the shower together before getting ready and heading off to work in Alex's very expensive Audi.

* * *

As the blonde was completing marking students work at her desk, she heard the sound of an incoming email from the computer. She swiveled over in her chair and smiled at the name which popped up on the screen.

 _TO: ALL STAFF_

 _SUBJECT: LONDON TRIP – STAFF MEMBERS NEEDED URGENTLY!_

 _FROM: ALEX VAUSE_

 **As most of you will be aware, the school is running a trip to London in the upcoming October half term. Due to some staff members dropping out and the number of students interested increasing, it means we are required to have more staff members joining us on the trip.**

 **I apologise for the short notice but please email Nicky Nicholls ASAP if you would be able to assist on the trip.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Alex Vause**

Piper read the email thoroughly twice over to make sure she had fully understood it. A small smile crept on her face at the opportunity of visiting London. Piper had been to many destinations over the years but London was one which she had always wanted to visit. It was something about the big red buses, the iconic buildings and the history that always intrigued her from a very young age. Without a second thought she tapped back an email in response.

 _TO: NICKY NICHOLLS_

 _FROM: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 **I am more than happy to help out on the London trip should you need my assistance.**

The blonde didn't need to wait long before she received a reply from Nicky.

 _TO: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 _FROM: NICKY NICHOLLS_

 **I wonder what swayed that decision Chapman? I'll let the boss know, I'm sure she'll be very happy**

 **that you are joining us…**

Piper raised an eyebrow as she read Nicky's reply aloud. The fact that Alex would even be attending the trip didn't cross her mind once. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of not only visiting London, but visiting with Alex would be a real treat.

 _TO: NICKY NICHOLLS_

 _FROM: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 **I honestly didn't realise that Alex would be attending**

 _TO: PIPER CHAPMAN_

 _FROM: NICKY NICHOLLS_

 **I'm sure you didn't know that she'd be attending, staying in her double en-suite all by herself…**

The blonde thought better of replying to the wild haired woman's email and instead, rose from her chair and sauntered in the direction of Alex's office. Piper opened the double doors leading to the reception, thankful that Nicky wasn't in sight to tease her about the trip. She offered a small smile to Lorna, sat behind the desk before continuing her walk to Alex's office.

Upon reaching the office, she wrapped her knuckles against the door very gently. A soft "come in" was heard from the other side so the blonde pressed the handle down and walked in.

"Oh what a lovely surprise" Alex smiled sincerely as she got up to greet the blonde.

Piper kissed Alex's cheek before sitting on the edge of her boss' desk.

"What brings you here then Miss Chapman?"

Piper smirked at the name. "So I got the email…" she trailed off as Alex moved to stand between the blonde's legs.

"Hmm" Alex pushed her to go further.

"And I told Nicky that I'd be more than willing to come along".

"Oh you did, did you?" Alex smirked as she placed her hands on the younger woman's hips.

"I did" the blonde nodded, leaning into Alex's touch.

"Well I for one am glad to hear that" she replied, bending down to kiss her lover.

The two women began kissing very passionately before breaking away suddenly, gasping for air.

"Fuck" Alex muttered with a smirk.

She began to move one hand to the hem of the blonde's blouse. Fumbling with the material and beginning to caress the skin that lay beneath.

Piper placed her hand on top of the brunette's in order to stop her movement. "We can't"

"Says who?" Alex replied with a grin, peppering the blonde's neck with kisses.

"Says my timetable" Piper lets out with low moans of pleasure.

"How long have we got?"

Piper glanced at the clock behind Alex's head. "20 minutes"

"Perfect" Alex smirked before beginning to unbutton the younger woman's' shirt.

Piper stopped Alex in her actions again. "Wait.. What if someone comes in?" She gasped out.

Alex raised her eyebrow before glancing at the door and then back at the blonde with a devilish grin on her face. Without a second thought, Alex skipped over to the door giddily before flicking the latch. Turning to Piper as she did so, noticing the wide smile which had now formed.

"You're naughty" Piper exclaimed.

"Only for you" Alex replied before pushing the blonde down on to her desk with some force.

* * *

Later that week, Piper had found herself rushing around her apartment, trying to get ready for the night ahead. It had been decided that herself, Alex, Nicky and Lorna would all get together and do something. Since the past few occasions they had all been together involved them sitting down for a meal, they decided to do something different and therefore agreed upon going to the cinema to watch a newly released movie.

At 7pm the blonde left the apartment she shared with her best friend and right on cue, the other three women pulled up in Alex's brand new car. Noticing that they had left the front passenger seat empty for the blonde, she skipped over to the other side of the car with a smile before climbing in.

Alex greeted Piper with a kiss whilst Nicky and Lorna both said their hello's very cheerfully.

It wasn't long after they had set off before the conversation started flowing.

"Soooo.. Vause, I've got a question for you" Nicky began.

"Shoot"

"How are you gonna get around sharing a room with Chapman on the trip then?"

Alex shrugged and seemed to ponder the question for a while. "I hadn't really thought about it"

Piper's face was one of confusion, showing that she seemed to be thinking about it as well.

"It's just that the kids might think it's funny that the boss lady is sharing with the new English graduate you know?"

Alex nodded her head in agreement.

"They might not even realise" Lorna tried to reason.

"Oh they will realise alright. It didn't take them long to start asking questions about Sylvia"

Piper sighed before speaking. "It doesn't necessarily mean we have to share a room just because we are dating though does it?"

Alex glanced at the blonde but didn't say anything.

Nicky burst out laughing. "Just how long do you think Vause here can go without getting any?"

The blonde laughed and shook her head.

Alex grinned also. "Unless you would like me to room the English department together. I can sort that out for you?"

"Please don't tell me Sylvia is coming as well?" Piper pleaded.

Alex kept her eyes on the road before nodding. "I'm afraid so kid"

"Ughh" Piper moaned in frustration.

The brunette placed her own hand from the steering wheel on to the top of the blonde's thigh. "We were desperate for staff" she tried to reason.

"Look it won't even be an issue, the kids won't even know" Alex smiled sincerely.

With that reassurance, the blonde's mood picked up as she smiled back at the brunette. "I can't wait anyway, I've always wanted to go to London!"

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure Vause will make it a trip to remember, isn't that right?" Nicky teased.

"Shut it Nicholls, you're only jealous that Lorna won't be there." Alex retorted back.

"Yeah, yeah…" Nicky offered an eyeroll at being shot down so quickly.

* * *

Upon reaching the cinema the two pairs walked in together, each holding hands.

Evaluating the situation, Lorna smiled very widely. "This is so cute you guys!"

Piper turned to smile back in agreement whilst Nicky bumped her hip against her girlfriend. "You're such a sap"

After finding their seats and settling down Nicky elbowed her best friend to gain her attention.

"What?" Alex scowled in annoyance at the repeated nudges.

"No funny business you hear me?"

"Are you actually kidding me right now" Alex threw her head back in laughter.

"I had to warn you, I'm not prepared to be listening to blondies moans again"

The raven-haired beauty shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not some 16 year old kid"

"No but you have the libido of one"

At that Alex raised her eyebrow before flipping her best friend off and turning her attention to the blonde.

An hour into the movie, the brunette let out a slight yawn. She moved her head close to the blonde's so she could whisper something.

The feeling of the older woman's breathe on Piper's ear made her shiver uncontrollably.

Alex smirked at the sight. "I'm bored"

Piper looked at the brunette directly with raised eyebrows. "Me too" she giggled.

A sharp "shhh" came from the pair sat next to them.

"You know I can think of other things that I'd rather be doing right now" Alex stated whilst grabbing the blonde's hand with her own.

"Oh please do enlighten me…" Piper challenged as she began to run her thumb across the brunettes.

Alex looked at the blonde with a very serious expression. "You" she stated simply, which earned a soft giggle from the younger woman.

"Is that so?"

"Mhmm"

"Maybe if you come and stay with me tonight, you could just do that…" Piper whispered whilst keeping her eyes trained on the movie.

"Is that a promise?"

Piper brought her boss' hand up to her lips, kissing each knuckle. "Yes, Polly is out"

Alex exclaimed in a whisper, "Well thank you Molly!"

* * *

The next day at work, Alex made the short trip to visit the blonde through her lunch break.

Seeing the brunette walk through the door lifted the blonde's spirit immediately.

"Oh hi"

"Hello" Alex replied, placing a soft kiss upon Piper's head.

"I thought we could eat our lunch together… is that ok?" Alex checked for reassurance.

"That would be nice"

After eating in silence for a few minutes, Alex started a conversation.

"So how has your day been?"

Piper sighed in thought. "Tough. Some of the kids just won't help themselves and there's only so much help I can give them"

Alex nodded in understanding. "I get that, it's hard but you've got to realise that you can't help everyone. Only the ones that really want it"

"I know, I just feel like I have a duty to help all the students"

"Look… you're only just learning the ropes. You've been brilliant so far, you've just got to keep at it kid"

"You really mean that?"

"Of course I do!"

Piper eyed her suspiciously. "Not just saying that because of our current situation?

Alex raised an eyebrow in question. "Seriously! I'm not the only one who thinks it too"

"Nicky was the one who hired you… she seen potential. Everyone else in the department has said how great you've been so far and I've seen it for myself." Alex placed her hand on top of the blonde's in support. "Stop doubting yourself. I believe in you, so put some of that belief in yourself" She smiled at the younger woman.

Piper looked down at their hands before smiling. "Thank you" she said sincerely.

"What for?"

"For giving me a chance" she paused and waved her hand between themselves "For this…"

"You don't have to thank me for this… I really like you Pipes" Alex intertwined their hands.

"I really like you too"

"Good because what we have…" Alex paused, reassuring herself, "It's not like I do this with everybody you know?"

"I'm glad" Piper gave a genuine smile.

"Are you happy?"

"Very happy" The blonde replied whilst leaning over to give the taller woman a kiss.

"Good" The brunette relaxed in to the kiss with a huge grin.

* * *

 **A/N: So... London is yet to come! I'm not sure whether to write this up as the next chapter and keep it going for a few chapters or insert another chapter and then go to London - Any idea's would very much be appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So I kept to my promise with the regular updating! Please review if you are a regular reader of this (even if its only a few words – it'll mean a great deal!) It's good to know where I'm going wrong/right and any suggestions that you may have really are appreciated! Thank you to everyone so far for your support.**

* * *

As a new week began mid-October, Piper strode into work with a spring in her step. To say she was happy would definitely be an understatement. The way in which both her job and the situation between herself and Alex was progressing was enough to be thrilled about. Unfortunately, the blonde hadn't seen or heard from her boss since they shared a peaceful lunch together last week. With that in mind, Piper couldn't wait to see the older woman and therefore navigated through the long corridors in the direction of Alex's office.

Upon reaching the reception area of Litchfield High, the blonde noticed Lorna sat behind the desk busying herself with some paperwork.

"Morning Lorna" Piper offered with a beam.

At the sound of that, Lorna lifted her head from the desk in search of the voice. "Ah, good morning Piper. Alex isn't in if that's who you're looking for"

"Do you know where she is? I've not seen her since Friday that's all"

"Aw look at you, you're smitten, aren't you?" Lorna asked cheekily.

Piper offered a slight smile in response, trying to hide her real reaction to that question from showing.

"But im afraid I can't help you with that one… She's usually here by now. Have you tried calling her?"

"She hasn't replied all weekend" Piper shrugged.

Lorna faces screws up in confusion at the situation. "I'll go ask Nicky" she said as she heads off in the direction of an office adjacent to the reception.

Several minutes later both women enter the room. "Hey Chapman!" Nicky greets.

"Hi Nick, do you have any idea where Alex is?" Piper asks in concern.

Nicky sighs as she contemplates her answer. "There were some complications with Diane's health on Friday night, she had to be rushed into surgery."

At that Piper inhaled deeply as a mixture of emotions ran through her. "Oh god, have you heard anything since?"

Nicky noticed Piper's reaction and quickly tried to reassure the blonde. "As far as I'm aware everything is ok right now. Vause is a worrier though she's probably still at the hospital"

"I want to see her. I need to know she's ok" Piper lets out in frustration.

"Look Chapman, you've gotta let Alex deal with this by herself, she will reach out if she needs you"

Piper nods in understanding. "I better get back to my class then" she says as she turns on her heel.

"I'll let you know if she gets in touch alright" Nicky offers

"Thanks Nick" Piper replies over her shoulder before continuing back to her own classroom.

* * *

As the working day had come to an end, Piper still hadn't managed to take her mind off Alex. Not knowing what Alex and her mum were going through was worrying her. Piper was in two minds about whether she should go to the hospital herself to make sure Alex was ok or to take Nicky's advice and let Alex reach out to Piper in her own time. The blonde was struggling with her thoughts as she knew that it was more than likely that Alex wouldn't have even mentioned Piper to her mum yet. After all, they weren't official, they had only been on a few dates so Alex probably wouldn't see it as being worthy of mentioning to her mum.

The blonde thought better of going to the hospital and instead settled for a text message.

 **Nicky has told me about your mum – Hope everything is ok. P X**

Piper hovered over the send button for a while before tapping it. Once the message showed as delivered, she locked her phone and threw it down on the desk in front of her. She threw her head in her hands as she sighed in frustration. The blonde stayed like that for several minutes before she was interrupted by someone barging into the classroom.

"Piper"

Piper eyerolled behind her hands upon hearing the voice. "Oh Sylvia. What can I do for you?" The blonde let out, trying to hide the displeasure in her voice.

"Well… Alex told me that I had to leave it some weeks before we had a progress meeting so here I am. Did you not get my email?"

Piper furrowed her eyebrows, trying to recall reading an email scheduling this meeting.

"No?" Piper questioned.

"I definitely sent it" Sylvia replied as she placed her thick, cardboard folder down on the table and took a seat across from the blonde.

"Oh" Piper replied, brows still knitted together.

"I thought that due to Alex not being around today we wouldn't be rudely interrupted either like the last time"

Upon hearing Alex's name, Piper only thought of one thing. "Do you know how she is?"

"Alex?" Sylvia questioned.

The blonde nodded in response.

"Ha!" the brunette let out a laugh. "I don't keep constant tabs on my ex-girlfriend – I'm not some weirdo"

"No I just thought-" Piper began before she was interrupted.

"Well you thought wrong" Sylvia cut in. "And even if I did, what does it matter to you? She isn't your girlfriend after all is she?"

"No" Piper swallowed at the abrupt tone Sylvia was using.

"Well there you go.." Sylvia began before smirking. "Alex and I have nothing to do with you, we're getting along well at the minute, we don't need some kid coming along and ruining it"

"Kid?" Piper raised her eyebrows in shock.

"That's what I said?"

"What is the problem? You're here to have a progress meeting with me, not have a go at me because you're jealous"

"Jealous? Of what exactly?" Sylvia began to raise her voice.

"Never mind" Piper shook her head, backing down as to not push the brunette any further.

Sylvia began to laugh. "Jealous.." she mocked.

"If you must know… I plan to spend some alone time with Alex when we go away on the trip to London. Trust me honey, I have nothing to be jealous of"

"Oh is that right?" Piper challenged.

Before the brunette could reply, the sound of an incoming message filled the empty spaces within the room. The blonde scrambled to the device as her heart fluttered upon reading the sender.

 **Ring me when you're free please – Alex**

Piper's heart skipped a beat in her chest. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the message. Without even thinking she pressed the call button and lifted the phone to her ear, ignoring the fact that Sylvia was in the room.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sylvia questioned.

Piper raised her hand in order to hush the brunette.

Alex's sniffles could be heard through the phone before she let out a rather weak "Pipes"

Piper's stomach dropped as she heard Alex's voice sounding so strained and so unlike its usual raspy self.

"One sec please" Piper said into the device.

Placing emphasis on the other woman's name, Piper began to speak. "Sylvia, maybe we can do this another time. I've really got to get this" she gestured towards the phone in her hand.

Alex could be heard muttering Sylvia's name in confusion.

Sylvia stood up with a shake of her head. "I'll be in touch" and without a second glance in the blonde's direction, the brunette walked out of the room.

Returning back to the more important matter at hand, Piper placed the phone back to her ear.

"Hey, Alex are you ok?! Is your mum ok?!" She rushed out.

Alex momentarily ignored Piper's questions. "What did Sylvia want?"

Piper swallowed, not wanting to give Alex more to worry about. "Oh, it was nothing. Just about work"

"Are you sure Pipes? You can talk to me you know?"

"Yes honestly, it's fine!" Piper reassured her boss.

"Look.. I'm sorry I haven't been replying this weekend" Alex said as she began to sniffle.

Piper's heart sunk at hearing Alex so vulnerable. "Hey shhhh, you don't need to apologise, you've had more important things to think about"

Alex seemed to remain silent apart from the odd sniffle.

"How are things Al?" Piper pushed her for an answer.

"Umm.. my mum had to get rushed in for surgery. Thankfully there were no complications, we've just got to see how it all rides out when she eventually wakes up"

"Oh god Al… I don't know what to say" Piper began to tear up. "I wish I could have been there for you"

"You weren't to know… everything should be ok now though Pipes"

"I hope so"

"It was just a shock to the system – I can't imagine losing my mum" Alex managed to get out before she started to well up again.

"Babe do you need me for anything?" Piper asked worryingly.

"No its fine thank you, I'm going to head back and see Nicky. I should be back at work within the next couple of days ok?"

"Ok well please let me know if I can help in any way"

Alex smiled through the receiver. "Thanks Pipes" she said before hanging up.

* * *

On Wednesday night, the two women had arranged for Piper to cook dinner at her apartment with Polly being absent. Piper was nervous, wanting to impress Alex. At 6:40, a knock was heard at the door, signalling that Alex had arrived ahead of time.

Piper swung the door open with a smirk. "Someone's eager"

Alex shrugged before stating with a serious expression "Nah, just hungry" before letting out a low laugh hand stepping inside to pull the blonde into a long hug.

Piper sighed as she relaxed into the hug. "is it sad that I've really missed you?"

Upon hearing that Alex hugged her tighter, inhaling her scent as she did so. "Is it sad that I've really missed you too?"

Piper leaned up on her tip toes to place a gentle kiss on the taller woman's lips. Smiling as she pulled away, "so you'll be very pleased to know that dinner will be ready in 20 minutes"

"Ooh" Alex spoke out loud as a thought hit her. She paced back a few steps until she was back out of the threshold and into the landing. Alex bent down to retrieve some items from the floor as Piper looked on with a confused expression.

"da da" Alex said in a cheery tone as she waved the items in the blonde's direction.

"Oh Al" Piper looked on in admiration. "You didn't need to do that" she said, walking to take the wine and flowers out of her boss' hands.

"Sure I did. You are cooking for us after all" Alex replied as she kissed the blonde on her forehead.

"That's so sweet" Piper stated before going to find a vase to place the flowers in.

During dinner, the pair spoke about anything and everything that they could think of.

Taking the last bite of her food, Alex placed her knife and fork down simultaneously on her plate before wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Hey um… I'm glad that you're coming with us on this trip, I guess it'll actually make it bearable"

Piper nodded as she swallowed her food. "I really can't wait!" She exclaimed once her mouth was empty.

"It'll be like our very first vacation together and we haven't even been together that lo-" Piper stopped in her tracks as she realised what she was about to say.

"Oh" Alex raised her eyebrows "I didn't realise we were together at all" She put on her best poker face, trying to hide her smirk.

Piper began to blush. "Sorry, what I meant was…" She sighed in frustration as no words were coming to the fore. "I don't know what I meant" she stated, shaking her head.

"I knew full well what you meant Miss Chapman" Alex smirked once again, reaching over to take the blonde's hand in her own. It was the kind of smirk which caused those butterflies to do summersaults in the pit of her stomach.

A comfortable silence washed over the room as the pair each evaluated the situation in their own minds.

Alex broke the silence. "But I guess this thing between us has been going on for quite a few weeks now". Piper looked up expectantly.

"And I've had so much fun…." Alex spoke as a wide smile began to break out on the blonde's face.

"So I do have a very important question to ask you" Pipers heart began pounding in her chest at the anticipation.

Alex pulled on Piper's hand in order to get her to scoot closer. However, the blonde rose from her chair and stood beside the older woman, gazing into her eyes as Alex guided her to sit down on her lap.

"Piper" Alex kissed her forehead

"Will" and then her cheek

"You" and then her earlobe

"Be" and then her neck

"Doing the washing up?" Alex forced out with a huge laugh to which Piper responded with a slap to the shoulder. The blonde sported a shocked expression with her mouth hanging wide open.

Both women then fell into a fit of giggles as Piper began to shake her head in disbelief. "You are unbelievable"

"That's what they say" Alex replied with a smirk.

Piper wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck as she placed their foreheads together, gazing into each other's eyes lovingly.

They stayed in that embrace for a minute before Alex broke out of the trance and began to speak.

"So Piper Chapman.." she stated, gaining the blonde's attention. "Will you do me the honour of becoming my girlfriend?"

Piper broke out into a huge grin. "Of course" she breathed out as she kissed the older woman passionately.

"Why do I feel like an excited 17 year old?" Piper exclaimed as the kiss broke down.

"It's the Vause charm"

Piper swatted the older woman once more. "You're so full of yourself"

"Would you have me any other way?" Alex asked with a cheeky glint in her eye.

"Not a chance" The blonde replied as she sealed a kiss once more.

"But anyway… like you say, I hope to make the most of London, even if we are surrounded by students" Alex raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"And how would we make the most of it exactly Miss Vause?"

"I could tell you…" Alex spoke as she pushed Piper up from her lap ever so gently.

She stood tall herself, placing her hands on either side of her girlfriend's waist and whispered in her ear. "But I'd much rather show you" She slapped the younger woman's behind which earned a squeal in response as they rushed off in the direction of Piper's bedroom.

* * *

Several hours later, both women lay on Piper's bed breathless, bed sheets and limbs tangled together. Clothing and excess pillows scattered around the room as if a bomb had struck down. However, nothing else mattered in this moment concerning the two women. They were both very content with the situation they were in. If Piper would've thought 6 months ago that she would be in this position right now, she would've laughed in disbelief. The blonde thought back to how she really believed she was happy with Larry but in comparison to the situation she's in now, she knows that what she had with Larry was never enough. Alex is enough. Alex will treat Piper like a queen, the exact way she deserves to be treated.

Alex noticed the deep thought that her now girlfriend was in. She broke the silence as she turned to look at the blonde. "What are you thinking about?"

"Us"

"Oh yeah… What about us?"

"It's just weird to think that I only met you last month but it feels like I've known you for so long"

Alex began to play with the blonde's locks of hair as she allowed her to continue speaking.

"I've never felt this way before. I thought I was happy in my last relationship but that feels like nothing compared to how I feel about our situation now"

"I feel the same way babe. You're not like anyone I've ever met before… You're smart, beautiful, caring, humorous, passionate about what you do and what you believe in… I love all of your traits"

Piper smiled at Alex's words "You're too kind"

"I'm just being honest" Alex placed a kiss on the younger woman's forehead. "You're perfect and I'm glad you're giving me a chance to treat you the way you should be treated"

Piper now sported the widest grin you'd ever see. "Nobody's ever spoken about me like that"

"Right well… as true as it is, you need to stop turning me into a sap. I've got a reputation to hold you know?" Alex raised an eyebrow

Piper giggled. "Ok Miss badass Vause"

"You've got it kid. Now come be my little spoon"

Piper scooted all the way back until there were no distance between the two women any more. Alex threw her arm around her lover's waist.

There was something else niggling at Piper's brain from her conversation with Sylvia that the blonde just couldn't let go of.

"Al, there's something else"

"What is it?" Alex asked in concern.

"It's just something that Sylvia was saying the other day. I know it's probably bullshit but I cant help but think about it"

"Go on" Alex pushed

Piper sighed in frustration "Ugh I feel dumb"

"Hey don't say that, tell me what's wrong" Alex leant up on an elbow so she could get a good look at the blonde.

"She was just saying how you and her were getting along so well right now and that she planned to spend some time alone with you in London…" Piper spoke as she looked up into Alex's eyes, awaiting a response.

Alex raised her eyebrows as she took in what her girlfriend was saying. "You have got to be kidding me"

"I just had to sit there and listen because I couldn't say anything about us"

"I'll speak to her"

"And say what? If she finds out about us then she will make my life hell"

"I hate being in this position. I hate her. I hate how she tries to keep a hold over me"

Piper remained silent. "I can assure you that you'll be by my side 24/7 when we go. You're the only one I want. The only one I want to be spending time with babe, I promise"

"I believe you" Piper said with a reassuring kiss.

"Lets go to sleep, I'll deal with her ok?"

"Ok, night Al"

"Night Pipes"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, much appreciated as always.**

* * *

As the morning of the trip to London arrived, all staff members and students congregated outside the Litchfield main building and awaited to board the coach which currently sat stationary in the car park. Piper and Alex were in deep discussion when Nicky abruptly interrupted them.

"Uh oh, look what the cat dragged in" Nicky breathed out as she bounced from foot to foot in order to keep warm.

Both women turned and looked in the direction that Nicky was pointing to.

The blonde offered an eye roll "oh Jesus Christ"

Alex smirked at the sight.

"Yo Vause she does know we're going to London and not Barbados right?" Nicky began to laugh.

The three women stood in disbelief as Sylvia rocked up in a pair of very short shorts, a camisole and a pair of flip flops to go with.

As the students all began to take in the English teacher's outfit, they began to snicker and talk about her in a not so hushed tone.

Realisation of this hit the brunette as she fired out. "HEY! Stop gossiping. I like to travel comfortably!"

At this, the three teachers who were still looking on burst out laughing.

Sylvia offered a very stern look in their direction to which Alex raised an eyebrow.

In order to prevent further humiliation for her ex-girlfriend, Alex took charge and ordered everyone to now board the bus.

Just as the student population all ran towards the bus so they could get the best seats, Piper lingered back and pulled the taller woman's arm to gain her attention.

"Hey Al, did you end up speaking to Sylvia about you and her?"

Alex sighed as she discretely ran her hand up the blonde's arm soothingly. "I haven't had time babe"

"Well she had better keep away or she will have me to answer to" Piper smirked.

Alex raised an eyebrow and ordered. "Get your ass on that bus!"

* * *

Several minutes later, Alex became the last person to board the coach heading to the airport.

As she reached the top step, the brunette peered down her nose across all of the rows in order to locate an empty seat. As her vision processed a flash of short, wavy blonde hair in the middle isle, Alex concentrated further to spot who Piper was sat next to. A frown appeared on the brunette's face as she realised that the blonde had taken residency up next to one of her own colleagues from the English department. With a slight shrug, Alex continued to observe each row and made eye contact with her ex-girlfriend.

"Al there's a seat next to me" Sylvia bellowed across the coach.

As not to show her dislike for Sylvia's proposal in front of the students, Alex simply waved her off with a smile pointing to another empty seat she had since located, next to her best friend.

Alex plopped down in the seat with a sigh.

"What's up Vause? Pissed that you're not sat with blondie?"

Alex frowned "No, shut up!" she exclaimed, swatting Nicky on the arm as she did so.

The taller woman genuinely missed Piper's presence. She felt very bizarre that she had these feelings inside herself when the blonde was only sat a few rows behind. Without another seconds thought Alex pulled out her phone.

 **[ALEX VAUSE] I notice that you didn't save me a seat?**

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] Oh, my bad, I thought you had told Sylvia to save a seat for you**

Alex frowned at the message from her girlfriend. _Was she really pissed about this?_

 **[ALEX VAUSE] Are you really that pissed because I haven't spoken to her about it?**

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] Of course… you are my girlfriend now.**

 **[ALEX VAUSE] I promise I will sort it ok?**

Piper didn't respond for several minutes. Making Alex increasingly anxious by the minute.

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] Miss you**

Alex smiled a very goofy smile upon reading that message

 **[ALEX VAUSE] SAP! I miss you**

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] It's a good job that we're sat together on the plane**

 **[ALEX VAUSE] Yes… we have an awful lot of time to kill**

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] Catching up on sleep sounds so good**

 **[ALEX VAUSE] If that's what they call it now Pipes**

Alex turned in her seat to look down the aisle and observe the students. Fortunately for herself, she was close enough to Piper that they could make direct eye contact. She watched as the blonde fumbled for her phone in order to read her latest text message. As Piper read the message, a slight smirk arose on her face as she caught on to what Alex was saying. The blonde looked up as she caught the naughty glint present within Alex's eyes. The pair wore mirroring smiles before the brunette turned back around in her chair and awaited a reply.

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] I recognise that look in your eye Miss Vause…**

 **[ALEX VAUSE] I don't know what you could possibly mean Miss Chapman.**

 **[ALEX VAUSE] Tell me… are you a member of the mile-high club?**

Alex awaited her girlfriend's response with a thud in her chest. She was very thankful that at that minute, Nicky was dead to the world. If she would have caught any of her best friend's facial expressions, then it would have been game over. Nicky would have known exactly what her and Piper would be talking about and most likely, would have gone out of her way to embarrass the couple.

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] I can't say I am no… Is there an option to join the club today?**

Alex smirked at Piper's playfulness

 **[ALEX VAUSE] That is definitely something I can look into for you**

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] I look forward to it**

Alex and Piper both wore matching smiles for the remainder of the coach journey. They were both very content with the current situation.

* * *

A few hours later, they had all arrived at the airport. After check in and security checks the group were well on the way to boarding the plane. Being very grateful that they were both sat well away from both the students and the rest of the staff members, Alex and Piper sat down in their designated seats with a huge sigh of relief.

As soon as the plane had taken off and been in the air for quite some time, both women decided to kill some time by reading a different book each.

Once Alex had reached the end of her current chapter, she glanced over in the blonde's direction, noticing that the younger woman hadn't moved in quite some time. Alex smirked at the sight beside her. Piper's book lay flat upon her chest where she had finished reading as she snored ever so lightly with her mouth agape. The blonde looked adorable to say the least.

The brunette notices a flight attendant approaching their direction and so beckoned her over before asking for a blanket to be brought over, signalling at her girlfriends sleeping body as she did so. Within minutes the flight attendant had returned and handed the brunette a blanket, big enough for the two of them.

 _Perfect_ she thought.

Alex allowed her mind to be cast back to the earlier conversation she carried out with her girlfriend.

She unfolded the blanket and gently rested it over Pipers legs and upper body whilst covering her own body parts. The brunette turned on her side ever so slightly so she could obtain a better view of Piper.

The brunette moved her arm across to the blonde's body ever so gently. Being sure to keep her movements light for the moment. She traced her fingers down to the hem of Piper's t-shirt before lifting it up slightly. She allowed her finger tips to trace the skin that was now exposed, goose bumps forming as she did so, leaving a trail behind.

Alex's fingers danced across the pale skin of the blonde's body for several seconds before they traveled further south. Upon reaching the waistband Alex began to smirk as she thought about what was to come. She slipped her hand further in and underneath the underwear that Piper was sporting.

Alex wasted no time and placed her fingers exactly where she wanted them. She parted Piper's flaps before placing her fingers on Pipers now hardened nub. The brunette began to rub and stroke in figures of eight, noting the effect it was having on the blonde as her breathing had become slightly heavier within the passing seconds.

Alex continued her ministrations for a couple of minutes before she found Piper's opening weeping.

"Fuck" Alex whispered.

The brunette dove straight in with two fingers.

At this point the blonde's eyes opened fully for the first time. Shock appeared over her face for a second before her facial expression relaxed, realising what was happening.

"Hey babe" Alex smirked.

Piper mirrored the smirk which her girlfriend donned. Without another word, Alex began moving inside the blonde for the first time.

They certainly weren't in any rush but Alex wasn't waiting around for nobody. She was pumping in and out of the blonde as quickly as she could, being sure to keep rhythm, rubbing the blonde's throbbing clit with her thumb.

The blonde was writhing in her seat, using the blanket to muffle her moans as much as possible.

Suddenly, all of Alex's movement came to a halt as she pulled out of the blonde.

"What are you doing!?" Piper exclaimed in a whisper.

Alex shook her head with a devilish grin. "You have to be quiet"

"Al…" Piper whined.

Without another word, Alex dove straight back into her routine and continued.

Minutes later Piper couldn't take no more and finally needed the release she had been waiting for.

"I'm comi-" Piper gasped as Alex threw her free hand over the blonde's mouth to quieten her.

Within seconds, Piper reached her climax with her walls clamping down around the brunette's fingers. Her body shuddered several times as she tried her hardest to regain control of her own body.

"Fuck" The two women exclaimed at the same time.

"Welcome to the mile high club Pipes" Alex whispered as she gently leaned over to kiss her girlfriend.

* * *

After a very long journey, the group finally land at 6pm local time. By the time all staff members and students reached the hotel and had dinner, most people were very sleep deprived and therefore headed off to their rooms for an early night.

Alex and Piper retreated to their room shortly after 9pm. The blonde was in the en-suite bathroom, about to strip for a much-needed relaxing bath. Just as she was going to undress, a knocking could be heard from the other room. Piper quickly turned off the taps and opened the door ever so slightly so that she could listen in.

Anger flared inside the blonde immediately as she realised who had now presented them self at her hotel room. _Sylvia._ The blonde groaned in displeasure as she moved within inches of the door, to give her the best chance of hearing the woman.

"Allly"

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might like a night cap" Sylvia stated, waving a bottle of vodka in the older woman's face.

"You thought wrong, go to bed Sylvia." Alex shook her head in disbelief, attempting to close the door in her ex-girlfriend's face. However, Sylvia appeared to be much quicker than Alex and moved her foot into the gap between the door and the wall.

"Hey not so fast!" Sylvia exclaimed. "Why won't you just have a drink with me?" she slurred.

"Look… now isn't a great time"

"Wh-What?" Sylvia peered into the room. "Do you have someone in here?"

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, willing Sylvia to leave.

Just as Alex's grip loosened on the door, Sylvia pushed her way through.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alex questioned.

"Like I said… nightcap" Sylvia slurred once more as she made her way into the centre of the room.

"Please just leave Sylvia, we aren't together anymore why can't you get your head around that?" Alex pleaded.

"We can still be friends though?"

Alex just shook her head, wanting the ground to swallow her up.

Sylvia paced over in front of her ex-girlfriend, grabbing both of her arms with her hands.

"Look at me" Sylvia ordered.

Alex kept her gaze locked to the floor and mumbled. "You need to leave"

"You don't get it do you" Sylvia shouted as the tears began flowing down her cheeks.

"What?"

"It's you. It's only ever been you"

"Stop this, it's the drink talking" Alex pleaded further.

"No!" Sylvia exclaimed before planting her lips on the taller woman's.

Alex froze in her spot. There she was in the middle of a hotel room with her now girlfriend in the bathroom adjacent to this room and her ex-girlfriend stood in front of her with their lips locked together.

"What the fuck!" Alex yelled as she pushed the younger woman from her.

Sylvia began to smirk. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that"

Alex was becoming angrier by the second. She grabbed Sylvia's weak body and marched her towards the door. "Why don't you ever grasp the meaning of NO?"

Alex pushed her ex-girlfriend through the threshold, into the landing and slammed the door behind her.

She let out a huge sigh as she slumped onto the bed, throwing her head into her hands.

Little did the brunette know that her girlfriend had been watching the whole scene take place through the crack in the door, right up until they kissed. At that point the blonde's heart sank to her stomach as she snatched herself away from the door, being able to look no further. A feeling of sick ran through her body as she played the previous moments back in her head. Piper breathed in and out uncontrollably, trying to calm herself.

Several minutes later, Alex approached the door, knocking slightly, whispering _Pipes_ before entering.  
The brunette found the blonde in the corner of the bathroom, knees pulled tightly to her chest with her head resting on top of them, rocking back and forth slowly.

Alex strolled over to where Piper sat and knelt beside her, placing one of her own hands on top of the blonde's arm. "Pipes, what's wrong?" Alex asked.

Piper froze at the contact. "Please don't touch me" she sniffled out.

Alex's brows furrowed in confusion as she removed her hand. "What have I done?"

The blonde remained silent.

"Piper please talk to me!" Alex pleaded.

"This can't be what you want can it?!" Piper questioned rhetorically to herself. "Otherwise why would you do that"

"Do what? … Pipes please tell me what's wrong"

Piper finally looked up for the first time, eyes blood shocked. "You!" Piper snapped.

"You and that bitch in there!" the blonde spat, signalling to the next room.

Alex shuffled back a few inches as realisation hit her that Piper had seen the kiss and must be thinking the worst.

"Jesus Piper! SHE kissed me" Alex emphasised. "Did you not see me throw her out?"

The blonde remained silent.

"She was drunk and being stupid. That's all". The brunette tried to reason.

"But this wouldn't have happened if you would just talk to her!" Piper yelled, now standing up.

Alex stood also, towering over the blonde with her arms folded. "I'm not sure exactly what you want me to say!?"

"How about back the FUCK OFF!" Piper screamed. "Because while you don't say anything to her she'll just keep running back"

Alex sighed in frustration. "I feel like I can't win. You won't let me tell her about us so-"

Piper interrupted. "Don't make me sound so selfish like that! You know very well that I have my own reasons for her not knowing!"

"Yes, well maybe you need to accept the fact that I'm her boss and can give her the boot at the click of a finger"

Piper shook her head, moving to leave the bathroom and enter the bedroom.

Alex followed her as she tried to reason once more. "Anyone would think you're ashamed of us the way that you're carrying off"

Piper spun on her heel to look at the woman. "The way I'm carrying off?" She yelled. "Because from where I'm standing it seems that you'd just rather me make it a whole lot easier for you and not give you the burden of having to tell your ex-girlfriend to leave you the fuck alone!"

Alex let out a laugh in disbelief.

"Ok then if that's the way you want it!" Piper stated before leaving the hotel room completely without another word, slamming the door behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Chapter 11! - Just a filler. I'm aware that its short but honestly i just wanted to get this part out of the way so that we can move on to all of the good stuff! I'm working on C12 as we speak so shouldn't be too long of a wait. I hope you all enjoy :)**

* * *

Piper winced at the sound of the hotel door slamming behind herself. Using the word angry to describe the way she felt at that moment would be an understatement. Piper was furious that she let her temper get the better of herself. If only she had kept watching the scene unfold from the bathroom, she would've seen that Alex had rejected the other woman and threw her out.

The blonde steadied herself against the wall for a few moments, trying to control her breathing into a reasonable pace again and become calmer. She had hoped that Alex would've come storming right out of the room after her but she didn't. There was just a simple door between the pair of them but neither of the women made an effort to patch up the situation immediately.

Disappointed in herself and her girlfriend, Piper made her way down to the bar on the ground floor of the hotel. She decided it would be for the best to keep some distance between herself and Alex for a brief period while they both gathered their thoughts.

The young woman navigated her way through the ground floor until she reached the bar. Upon arrival, she noticed a couple of her fellow colleagues drinking in one corner of the room. She pondered on whether to join them but decided against it. Piper located an empty bar stool and sat upon it as she waited for the barman to come over and take her order.

The blonde watched the lone working barman as he took the order of the next waiting customer. She zoned out slightly as she began to fiddle with a torn beer mat on the slightly sticky surface of the bar. Her attention was brought back into real time as she noticed the barman was now stood in front of her.

"Excuse me miss?" He began politely.

"Oh sorry" Piper blushed slightly, embarrassed that she had completely lost focus.

"He said and whatever you're having" The barman gestured to the customer propping up the bar who's order he had just been taking.

Piper's eyes followed the hand gestures of the barman and stopped once she spotted a tall, handsome man dressed in a suit gazing at her. The blonde offered a smile before telling the barman her order. She mouthed a slight thank you to the well-dressed stranger who simply nodded in response before disappearing.

Piper thought long and hard about her relationship with Alex over that first drink. She knew that she could very easily have prevented that argument but she was never one to back down. The blonde knew that Alex was right and she should just let her girlfriend tell Sylvia about the two of them. She made the decision in her own head to tell Alex everything she had been thinking. That was it, she was going to let Alex tell Sylvia, it was the only way that she would finally leave the two of them alone. With the recent revelations made in her head, she decided it was time to go back and face Alex.

The blonde downed the rest of her drink before slamming it back on the bar. She attempted to scoot the bar stool back ever so slightly so she could hop down but she was stopped suddenly as a big, warm hand grasped the top of her own on the glass she was still clinging on to.

"Allow me to get you another" The stranger spoke.

Piper froze in shock as she registered who the stranger was beside her. It was the same man who had bought her the drink previously. She couldn't help but note how attractive this man was. It was evident that he took pride in his appearance. The blonde swallowed nervously.

"I was just about to go back upstairs" Piper let out.

"Please?" The man pleaded as he removed his hand from on top of the blonde's.

Piper frowned at the eagerness of this stranger. She felt as if she had no other option but to comply. _Just one more._ She told herself.

"Ok, just one more"

The man smiled as he gestured to the barman for another round of drinks to be sent their way.

"American, right?"

"That would be correct" Piper grinned.

He settled into the bar stool beside the blonde. "James" He offered.

"Piper" she smiled sincerely as they shook hands.

"So how come you're down here all by yourself?" James inquired.

"Oh, you know…." Piper began, not really knowing what to say.

James raised his eyebrows, anticipating the blonde's response.

"Just wanted some time to myself I suppose" Piper reasoned with a sigh.

The man chuckled as he reached out to take a sip of his drink. "Time away from the boyfriend?"

"Not quite"

"Ah so you don't have a boyfriend?"

Piper smirked as she took a sip of her own drink. "No I do not have a boyfriend"

James nodded as he took in the information.

"I hope you didn't think that me buying you a drink was weird…. You just looked a little lonely that's all" He said as he placed his arm around the back of the blonde's chair.

At his sudden movements, Piper shifted in her chair a little so that she wasn't leaning into his touch.

"No" the blonde chuckled "I appreciate it… thanks"

An awkward silence filled the air as the two of them simultaneously took a sip of their drink.

"Sooo…"

"You're not here with anyone then?" Piper asked.

"No" James sighed. "I'm here on business but I go home tomorrow"

"Oh right" Piper nodded, feeling slightly awkward.

Thankfully, the blonde's phone vibrated against the bar which gave her an excuse to divert her attentions from the man.

 **[NICKY NICHOLLS] Tell me young Chapman, why are you sat at the bar with a stranger when boss lady is upstairs, all alone in your hotel room?**

Piper frowned as she read the text. Her eyes darted to the corner of the room where her fellow colleagues were sat when she walked in earlier. As soon as she looked over, her assumption was deemed to be true, Nicky was in fact sat with that group. Her eyes were looking right into the blonde's as she watched the situation with intent.

James noticed the change in Piper's facial expression and asked with concern. "Everything ok?"

Piper offered a simple nod as she looked at the time on her phone before texting Nicky back.

 **[PIPER CHAPMAN] She's asleep – jet lag.**

The blonde didn't want Nicky to know that she and Alex had – had words that evening and so came up with what she perceived to be a believable lie. She placed her phone back on the bar as she contemplated what her next move should be.

Should she go back to Alex like she had decided previously or would she actually have gone to sleep by now? Piper wasn't tired so if that was the case, she would only be sat in the hotel room staring into thin air. She decided against going back to the room and continued to have more drinks with James. After all, it was completely innocent, they were just two people having drinks together and after tonight they would never see each other again. Piper would go back to Alex, make up and everything would be ok but little did she know that Nicky Nicholls had other plans for the blonde woman.

James and Piper spent a while sat together at the bar. They got to know each other a little better over many more drinks and shared many laughs in between. James had become much closer to the blonde within recent minutes as their chairs were practically touching. His arm was still draped around the back of the blonde's seat but as she had become more relaxed, it would look as if she was leaning into his touch from a distance.

Just as James was about to order yet another round of drinks for the pair of them, a tall, dark figure came striding across from the double doors of the entrance to where the couple were situated at the other side of the bar.

Piper looked across as she noticed a flash of jet black hair out of the corner of her eye to find Alex making her way over.

Alex noticed how comfortable the pair seemed to be with each other and anger instantly flared up inside her.

"What the hell is going on!?" Alex glared straight at Piper, ignoring the man sat next to her.

Pipers eyebrows shot up as she registered the tone that her girlfriend was using.

"Alex, I was just about to come back up" Piper answered.

"Are you sure about that Piper? Because from where I'm sitting you two are looking pretty cosy" Alex spat.

"We're just having a couple of drinks!"

"Bullshit. Nicky's told me all about how comfortable you've been getting sat here together"

"Nicky" Piper snorted in disbelief.

James sat up from his slouched position, removing his arm from the back of Piper's chair.  
"Sorry, what seems to be the problem?"

"The problem is that you're trying to get in her pants!" Alex yelled, slamming her hand on the bar in anger.

Piper flinched at her girlfriend's movements. She quickly hopped of her bar stool and came to Alex's side in hope of calming her down.

"Why is that a problem? We're both single?"

"OH" Alex let out as she registered what was being said. "You're single, are you?" Alex sneered in Piper's direction as she shook her head.

"That's not what I said" Piper also began shaking her head. "I said I didn't have a boyfriend!"

"That's the same thing!" James breathed out.

"Not when this is my girlfriend!" Alex yelled in James' direction pointing at Piper.

The man's eyes went wide as realisation hit him.

Alex grabbed the man's drink and before she even had time to think about what she was doing, she tipped it over his head. The whole room gasped as they looked on.

A few cheers could be heard around the bar as the onlookers applauded Alex, especially her colleagues sat in the far corner. She smirked a little as she looked on at the scene in front of her. Suddenly becoming much calmer now that she had gotten her anger out.

"Come on" she mumbled and pulled her girlfriend towards the exit hand in hand.

The two women made the short journey back to their hotel room in complete silence. As they reached their room, Alex plopped onto the bed and threw her hands over her head, letting out a huge sigh in the process.

"Fuck" Alex let out.

Piper sat down beside the older woman and moved Alex's own hands off her face, linking their fingers together.

"Look… I was an ass tonight. When I saw Sylvia kiss you I just froze and completely blanked everything else out. It was stupid and I shouldn't have just walked out on you"

Alex stared into a corner of the room, thinking about Piper's words.

"You were right. I think Sylvia needs to know about us. It's the only way that she is going to stop pining after you…"

Alex sat up at Piper's revelation. "but-"

"No buts" Piper shook her head. "I know that I had my reasons, I didn't want her to treat me any differently at work because we're together but now I have realised that it's the only way. I'll have to take whatever shit she throws my way because this is worth it." Piper smiled genuinely. "You are worth it" She stated and kissed the taller woman.

"Wow" Alex was slightly speechless. "Are you sure Pipes?"

"I'm sure" The blonde nodded.

"Thank you" Alex kissed the younger woman passionately. "I'll deal with her babe I promise"

Piper smiled as she walked over to her clothing and began searching for something suitable for bed.

"Seeing as we're having our moment of honesty… I shouldn't have kicked off like that at the bar. I guess I was a tiny bit jealous… I'm sorry" Alex revealed.

Piper turned around in surprise. "Don't you dare apologise!" she threatened.

"That was totally badass and hot!"

Alex chuckled in response.

"If you say so Pipes"

"Oh yeah" The blonde smirked. "You should definitely get jealous more often"

Piper walked back over to the bed where Alex lay as she placed a chaste kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"Be my little spoon?"

"Always" Piper whispered as she got into position.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, it will get better I promise! Please review and let me know what you think, whether that be good or bad – it really helps! Thank you for reading.**

* * *

A couple of days after their little disagreement in the hotel room, things were going well for Alex and Piper on the London trip. Alex hadn't had the chance to talk to Sylvia yet but the brunette had made a mental note to do so at the best possible time. The first two days of the trip were spent wandering around various museums and galleries. The first item on the agenda for today was a trip to the most popular attraction in the city, the London Eye.

As soon as Piper had found out that they would be paying a visit to the London Eye she had been incredibly excited. The excitement was so prominent that Alex had come up with a treat for the blonde so that she could enjoy the attraction all the more. The planning that went into Piper's surprise was a lot and it didn't come cheap either but Alex knew that her girlfriend was worth every penny.

At 10:30 sharp the whole group from Litchfield High congregated in the main lobby of the hotel. A quick head count was conducted by the members of staff before all teachers and students made their way out front and on to the coach that awaited them.

Alex being in charge, was the last to board as always. She climbed the three steps before scanning the length of the coach to ensure that everyone had been seated. As her eye line navigated down the left-hand side row of seats, along the back and then up the right hand-side towards the front seats she stopped in her tracks as her eyes locked with Pipers. The brunette noticed that the blonde had purposely sat right at the front of the coach next to the middle isle ensuring that nobody could sit next to her. Alex offered a smirk as she realised that her girlfriend had saved her a seat.

Alex stood up straight next to the blonde, waiting for her to move over. Seconds passed and no movement was made.

"Um Miss Chapman?"

"Oh, sorry were you wanting to sit next to me?" Piper replied innocently.

Alex raised her eyebrow. "Could I just squeeze past you please?"

"Sure" Piper replied genuinely without moving.

Alex shook her head with a slight grin. There was a pole located ahead of the two front seats which separated the seats from the stairs at the exit of the coach, leaving minimal space to get by the blonde.

The brunette placed her own leg in between Piper's as she attempted to shuffle along the small gap. By no means was Piper making this easy for Alex. Seeing her girlfriend struggle spurred her on to make this even more challenging for the brunette. Piper slumped down in her seat slightly, pushing her feet forwards along the floor making the gap become increasingly smaller.

As the gap decreased, Alex had little room for movement and accidentally fell forwards on to the blonde. As she did so the blonde let out a gasp of laughter. She immediately wrapped her hands around the brunette's thighs which were resting either side of her own. Alex looked down at the blonde's hands before looking into her eyes and raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Before she let herself get too caught up in the moment, Alex nudged herself off the blonde and rolled the rest of the way in to her seat. She glanced at her girlfriend who was staring right at her with the widest smile.

"Fucker" Alex whispered in annoyance.

"To be continued?" Piper questioned in reply as she moved to place her hand on top of Alex's

Alex scowled at the blonde before interlinking their fingers together with a squeeze.

* * *

Soon after, the group from Litchfield arrived at the staggering 135m tall attraction at the heart of London. After a 15-minute wait for the current rotation to end, the Litchfield group finally were finally allowed to get on the London Eye.

The group were split into two halves and they were allocated one capsule per group.

As soon as the first group began to pile into their capsule, Alex made sure that she hung around at the back of the queue with Piper. Little did the blonde know that Alex had something up her sleeve. Once the first group had filled their capsule it was time for the second group to board the London Eye.

Piper began to follow close behind the group before she felt herself being pulled back by the brunette.

"Pipes wait"

"What is it?" The blonde turned around in confusion.

"Just wait" Alex replied with a smirk.

Once that she had seen the second group had filled their capsule securely, she noticed the attendant signal for the next capsule to be brought down.

"Alex?" Piper questioned as she pulled on the brunette's arm to gain her attention.

"Why aren't we getting on?"

"We are" Alex nodded her head at the next capsule.

Just as the blonde was about to speak once more, the attendant interrupted her. "Alex Vause is it?"

"Yeah" The brunette smiled as she stepped forward.

"Enjoy!" The attendant exclaimed as he gestured for the pair to enter the next available capsule.

Alex pulled Piper close behind her as she entered their own bubble on the London Eye. Piper had only just made it through the doors before they shut tightly behind her. She whipped her head around almost too quickly in surprise.

"Wh- Wha- Why isn't anyone else coming in here? Surely they have to fill them all up right?" She questioned as she turned around to face the brunette once more.

Only now did the blonde begin to realise why they were alone. Right in the centre of the capsule was a table draped in red silk, holding 2 covered up plates, 2 glasses, lit candles and a bottle of champagne.

Piper opened her mouth in shock. "What's all this?"

Alex grinned at the blonde's reaction. "This is for you my dear"

Piper's mouth opened wider as she gasped. "Alex-"

"You did all this for me?"

Alex bit her lip as she nodded in response.

"Oh Al" Piper began as her eyes began to fill.

"Hey, don't cry, this is supposed to be a happy time" Alex chuckled as she walked over to where the blonde stood and took her into her arms.

"They're happy tears" Piper sniffled into Alex's neck as she fell into an embrace.

A few seconds later their capsule began to move. Piper held on to Alex tighter.

"Are you sure this is sturdy?"

Alex let out a low laugh. "God, I hope so"

"Otherwise we're going to be eating off the floor"

Shortly after, the women sat down at the table and began to dive into their meal whilst taking in their surroundings.

"How long does this thing go around for?" Piper asked once she had finished eating

"We have half an hour" Alex spoke whilst taking a sip of her drink.

"Really?" Piper asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Whatever you're thinking stop" Alex warned with a smirk.

Piper slowly arose from her seat and walked the length of the table before plopping down onto her girlfriend's lap.

Alex immediately grasped the blonde and wrapped both arms around her waist. She pulled the blonde impossibly close, sniffing the scent of her chest as she did so. "Mmm" She moaned. Piper let out a sigh as she relaxed into her girlfriend's warm embrace.

No words were said in that small moment shared between the women but things felt perfect for the pair.

Once their capsule had reached the highest point, the blonde hopped off Alex's lap and strode to the large windows. She took in the sights before her. "Wow…" she let out.

"Wow indeed" Alex replied as she sneaked up behind her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around the blonde protectively.

Piper covered the raven-haired beauty's hands with her own as they both looked out across the city of London with matching smiles.

After several minutes the blonde stated, "I love this view"

Suddenly, Alex's own thoughts unintentionally became spoken words out loud. "I love you"

The brunette's eyes widened in shock as she realised that her words were no longer her thoughts. She didn't have time to internally curse as the blonde interrupted her.

"You do!?" Piper questioned.

The blonde turned around in her girlfriend's arms with the widest smile ever to don her face.

For the first time ever, Alex looked vulnerable to the blonde. "I don't say that to everyone. You have to say it back" the brunette replied as she looked straight into her lover's eyes.

"I love you too"

And with those words, nobody could break the bubble that the two women were in right now. Alex pulled Piper in to the sweetest kiss. It was one of the slowest yet passionate kisses that they had ever shared.

Once they finally broke away, they remained in each other's arms, foreheads together, eyes locked and smiles like nobody else had seen before.

* * *

Once the 30-minute rotation of the London Eye had concluded the whole group settled for a picnic within Hyde Park. After this, the second trip of the day was almost ready to commence. Alex had arranged for the group to take a relaxing cruise down the river Thames.

The tour was definitely appreciated by both teachers and students. It was proving to be a wonderful way to wind down after a hectic day walking around the busy city. As well as this, it gave all of the students a chance to see the attractions which they hadn't seen yet. Including; Big Ben, Tower Bridge and Westminster.

At the half way stage, Alex came away from the group in need of a brief time out. She found herself walking in the opposite direction to where all of the students currently were. The brunette navigated herself inside and located the nearest restroom. She tried the door handle to find that it was engaged.

After waiting several minutes, out came the person she least wanted to see, looking rough as hell.

" _Fuck"._ Alex thought to herself

Sylvia looked on as she realised who was standing beside her. Sighing she mumbled "Motion sickness"

"Oh" Alex frowned. "Are you alright?"

Sylvia nodded in response. "Maybe that and something to do with all the liquor being poured down my throat last night"

Alex chuckled. Glad that they were able to have some sort of civil conversation.

"Never could handle your drink huh?" Alex teased.

"Something like that" Sylvia nodded as she shrugged with half a smile.

Silence dawned on the women for a couple of minutes before Alex broke the silence.

"Look, while I have you on my own can we please talk about things?" Alex pleaded as she removed her glasses from her eyes and placed them above her head. _It's now or never._

Sylvia motioned behind the taller woman to some tables and chairs before walking over and falling ungracefully into a chair.

Alex sat across from her ex-girlfriend, debating in her own mind how to start up the conversation.

"If this is about the other night-" Sylvia began.

Alex sighed in frustration. "That should not have happened"

"I know"

The brunette was taken aback by Sylvia's response.

"I was drunk and being stupid"

Alex nodded as she waited to see if Sylvia would delve deeper.

"I think I need to learn how to move on..." She then looked up at Alex. "I'm sorry"

Alex frowned a little at the sincerity. "Look- there's something that I've been meaning to tell you"

Sylvia kept her eyes locked with Alex's, waiting for her to continue speaking.

"It's about me and Piper"

At that, Alex could see the discomfort of the topic in Sylvia's facial expression.

Sylvia remained quiet so Alex continued. "We're together"

Alex's ex-girlfriend suddenly shifted her eye contact away and focused on anything but the taller woman sat in front of her.

"Right" Sylvia nodded in sadness.

Alex had never seen Sylvia act this way before. There was some vulnerability to her and she was most definitely not expecting this reaction from the smaller woman.

"I hope that you can accept this and be happy for us" Alex offered.

Sylvia simply nodded in response. Refusing to look at the raven-haired beauty.

Sylvia chuckled. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt"

Alex studied the woman, willing for her to speak more.

"What we had was real"

"Was it?!" Alex jumped in with raised eyebrows.

"Yes!" Sylvia snapped. "I made a mistake but that doesn't take away what we had together"

"Our relationship was built upon foundations of cheating and lies"

Sylvia finally made eye contact with the brunette once more. "We could've given it another go!"

Alex shook her head in response. "All trust was gone Sylvia"

"So, you jump into bed with the next thing that comes along to get back at me!"

"Piper isn't my way of getting back at you!" Alex spat back.

"Oh really? Do you love her?"

Alex knitted her eyebrows together at the question but answered honestly. "Yes"

"More than you loved me?" Sylvia questioned, tears beginning to come to the surface.

Alex shook her head in disbelief.

"I love Piper like nobody else. She is so amazing, we're good together and that's all I need to say"

The smaller woman scooted her chair back quickly, creating a loud scraping noise across the surface of the wooden flooring. She looked Alex dead in the eye's before speaking. "Yeah well, I hope you're happy together!" Sylvia shouted before storming off, leaving Alex to stew on her words.

* * *

After the boat trip, the whole group went back to the hotel to enjoy some dinner. Once this had come to an end, Alex dismissed all of the students to their rooms with instructions on what time they should report back in the morning.

Alex and Piper retreated back to their hotel room once dinner had concluded. The pair stumbled through the door and shredded any clothes as they did so before climbing into bed.

"Oh man… what a long ass day!" Alex exclaimed between yawns.

The blonde snuggled into her girlfriend's side as she spoke.

"I've been thinking about this all day"

"What?" Alex questioned through tired eyes.

"Just laying here with you… It's my happy place" Piper smiled as she spoke.

Alex chuckled in response. "I finally spoke to Sylvia today"

Piper sat up slightly, opening her eyes as she let Alex's confession register.

"How did that go?"

Alex laughed before replying "I'm here, no bruises or broken bones so I guess you could say it couldn't have gone any better!"

The blonde slapped her girlfriend on the arm. "No, really?"

"She got a little irate but it went as well as it could've"

"Oh, well I'm glad" Piper stated sincerely before settling back down next to the brunette.

The brunette changed positions so that she could spoon Piper once again. The position that they had both become so accustomed to. It was now second nature to fall asleep like this for the two women.

Alex laid a soft kiss on her girlfriend's neck before laying back down on the Pillow.

"I love you Piper Chapman"

"I love you Alex Vause"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Chapter 13 - I really wasn't sure about this but i gave it my best shot. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.**

* * *

Sleep had become pretty much hit and miss for Alex as she tried to adjust to the time difference between the two continents. She groaned slightly as she lifted her body up an inch to get a better view of the alarm clock at the other side of the bed. 2:26 AM it read. The brunette rolled her eyes in annoyance and slumped back down on to her pillow, careful not to wake the sleeping blonde that lay beside her.

Deciding that she wouldn't be falling back to sleep any time soon, Alex reached for her phone in order to respond to any texts and emails she had received. 30 minutes later - 3 AM. Alex had finished browsing her phone and sighed as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Being the only one awake in the room was proving to be very lonely for the brunette. She eventually turned on her side to stare at her beautiful girlfriend sleeping peacefully. She peeled the covers back gently so that she could get a better view of the younger woman.

Piper was laying on her left side, facing the door which gave Alex the perfect view of Piper's back, bum and perfectly toned legs. Alex instinctively licked her lips as she took in the sight before her. God, she felt lucky. Lucky to have Piper and oh so lucky that the pair slept naked that night. Seeing her girlfriend lay before her in all her glory did things to Alex. She had the sudden urge to touch the blonde and that's exactly what she was going to do. She didn't care that the blonde was sleeping. She wanted her girlfriend and she wanted her now.

Alex made sure to prop herself up on her elbow to give her a better angle to work with. She began by lightly tracing her finger tips along the blonde's hip and side. Her touch was soft like a feather and she continued within her ministrations for several minutes. Each time her grazing got longer and longer until she was eventually tracing the length of Piper's fully extended body. Alex smirked to herself as the blonde's body was reacting unbeknownst to Piper with goose bumps trailing behind Alex's touch. Alex scooted on closer to the blonde so that her body slotted right behind her girlfriends. Alex became impossibly close to her girlfriend and ensured that they fit perfectly in sync. Mere millimetres were separating the two women.

Now that Alex was as close as she possibly could be to the blonde she could begin working in other places. She allowed her finger tips to glide slowly from Piper's side to her abdomen. From there they worked their way upwards in the direction of her breasts. Alex grazed her finger tips achingly slow up the centre of Piper's stomach and in between where both her girlfriends breast lay. She then travelled up to Piper's chest, continuously leaving goose bumps behind before she circled Piper's boobs in figure of 8's.

Alex stopped her finger tips from grazing and peered over her girlfriend's body to ensure that she was still sleeping. If Alex was going to wake Piper up, she wanted to give her the best possible wake up call that she could give her.

The taller woman grasped one of Piper's breasts and began kneading it between her fingers and the palm of her hand. She suppressed a slight groan coming from her own mouth as she pinched the blonde's nipple. Alex could feel the nipple react instantly with a slight hardening. She moved her hand from one breast to the other and mirrored her actions once more. Piper's nipples had become slightly erect and Alex knew that they needed a little more encouragement.

The last thing the older woman wanted to do at this stage was to wake the blonde up so her next actions had to be done in the most discreet way. She carefully pulled Piper's left shoulder down slightly until her back collided with the bed. Alex waited a few seconds, ensuring that her girlfriend still remained fast asleep before she moved once more. Once Alex was happy that Piper was sound asleep she smirked as she could get back to work.

Alex moved further down the bed so that she could gain better access. She immediately threw her mouth over Piper's left nipple and began to give light sucks. She flittered between both nipples, providing soft sucks, long licks and strong flicks with the tip of the tongue. Before long the blonde's nipples were fully erect and Alex could feel a slight pool form in her panties at the sight.

The tall brunette navigated her way down Piper's body by leaving a trail of wet kisses as she did so.

Upon reaching the place she most wanted to be she gave a peck to the top of her girlfriend's mound. Due to the way in which she had rolled over, Piper's legs were clamped shut together, therefore denying Alex any real access.

Alex smirked as she looked on. There was no way she was being denied of this opportunity. She placed four fingers of her right hand in between Piper's thighs. She scooped one thigh up and in one instant movement she split them apart.

What lay before the brunette caught her off guard. She didn't expect to see such a pool waiting for her in-between her lover's legs. Due to her thighs being pushed together, the wet residue had crept up onto the inner thighs and was glistening as Alex glared in that direction. She gulped in awe. _Fuck._ Alex thought. She never would've imagined that her small touches would've had this much of a reaction on the blonde, especially whilst she was sleeping.

Alex shook her head with a slight lip bite. Piper Chapman was a beautiful person inside and out. Alex took her index finger and simultaneously swept up the juices which lay on the blonde's thighs. She then took the same finger and ran it up and down Piper's sex for the first time. At the initial contact, Piper's breathing pattern altered a little but this didn't wake the blonde up. Alex continued to stroke up and down her girlfriend's pussy for a minute or so and lapped it up in the juices which were already pooling at the surface.

The brunette needed to taste Piper and that was her exact next move. She moved swiftly and placed her mouth on top of Piper's sex. The heat radiated from her girlfriends core. She offered a peck to the blonde's clit before engulfing it within her own mouth. She switched between sucking Piper's hardened nub and providing long, sharp licks up and down the length of the blonde's pussy. The more and more juices that gushed out of Piper involuntarily, the more rash her breathing became. Alex wondered how the blonde still remained to be sleeping. She chuckled at the sight.

Whilst continuing with her ministrations, the older woman decided she would take this a step further and delved right into Piper's gaping hole with two fingers. Suddenly, Piper reacted to the contact as her legs clenched together in response. Alex halted her movements. After a few seconds, the blonde became relaxed again with two of Alex's fingers buried deep inside her.

Alex took that as a sign with which she could continue once more. Without a seconds thought she withdrew her two fingers from her girlfriend and plunged them straight back into Piper immediately. The brunette shook her head in disbelief as her girlfriend had still not woken up. This was causing the pool between her own legs to grow more and more.

Soon after, the brunette's pace quickened as she continued to pump in and out of her girlfriend, adding yet another finger in the process. She timed her actions with strong licks to Piper's clit and after a minute she could sense the blonde stirring beneath her.

Suddenly, Piper's thighs enclosed tightly around Alex's head as she fell out of her peaceful slumber.

"FUCK" Piper exclaimed as her eyes came flying open in realisation. She instinctively grabbed for the back of her girlfriend's head and grabbed a fistful of hair. "OH FUCK" she let out again.

Alex haltered her actions as she looked up from between her girlfriend's legs with the smuggest grin.

Piper stared right back at her and shook her head in the sexiest manner Alex had ever witnessed. Without saying another word the blonde gained a tighter hold of her girlfriend's hair and pushed her head right back to where she wanted it. Where she needed it.

Alex moaned into Piper's pussy as Piper's pulling of her hair inflicted great pain upon the brunette. The vibrations of Alex's moan only turned the blonde on even more as juices came flowing out of her opening. Alex was soon on the case lapping the juices up, all to Piper's pleasure.

The taller woman returned to the task at hand as she continued to lick and finger her girlfriend at a steady, rhythmic pace. The blonde's moans were growing louder and louder with each pump that Alex produced with her fingers.

Several minutes later Piper could be seen gripping for dear life on the white linen bed sheets around her. Her hair was messy and her face was bright red and sweaty. She was panting like never before and screaming pure expletives alongside Alex's name. Swiftly she let Alex aware of her upcoming orgasm.

"IM COMING IM COMING IM COMING" The blonde shrieked.

Alex didn't need Piper's confirmation of this. The fact that her inner walls started to pulsate around the brunettes long, slender fingers told her this much. Alex was about to let her girlfriend cum but she had better idea's. Without a seconds warning she pulled right out of her girlfriend and sat straight up. The loss of contact within the blonde's pussy sent out a wave of juices which began to soak the sheets beneath.

"Fuck" Alex panted as she licked up the remainder of the juices.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Piper exclaimed

Alex smirked in response which riled the blonde up. Piper sat up immediately and grappled for the brunette's arm in order to place it exactly where she wanted it.

Alex's grin became wider. "Nuh-uh-uh" She waggled a finger in the blonde's direction teasingly.

"Together"

Piper frowned in frustration. She couldn't believe that Alex had just pulled out when she was so close to reaching that climax that she so desperately craved for.

Alex grasped Piper's right leg and lifted it up some. She slotted herself in-between the blonde's legs at an angle. She lowered herself down agonisingly slowly until skin met skin. The sudden contact which came when the two women's pussy's pressed together sent jolts right through their bodies. They both moaned instantly at the contact as Alex rolled her eyes back in pleasure. "OH GOD".

"THAT FEELS SO GOOD!"

It wasn't long before the two women began grinding against each other. They finally found a rhythm which was pleasurable for the both of them. Moans and grunts could be heard across the room.

"RIGHT THERE!" Piper exclaimed.

This spurred Alex on to speed up her motions against the blonde. Their climaxes were approaching rapidly as they grinded against each other like never before. The sensations were building and it felt as if they were going to combust. The air had never been so hot in the room.

Seconds later, their muscles contracted and they rode out the most, sensational, electrifying orgasm they had ever achieved together. Breathe was proving hard to come by. Screams could be heard the length of the corridor outside but neither woman cared. They had just produced the most blissful moment and they were going to lap up every moment of it.

"FUCK ME!" Piper exclaimed as she threw her hands on her tall girlfriend's upper body who sat right above her.

"I just did" Alex smirked cheekily.

Piper chuckled in response. "What did I do to deserve that"

The brunette eased Piper's leg down as she crept up towards the blonde's face. She placed a kiss on her lovers' neck before sucking on the sweet spot she knew all too well about.

"I couldn't sleep" Alex raised an eyebrow "And you looked …." She shook her head slowly trying to find the right word "Divine" She stated, sucking the blonde's earlobe into her mouth.

"Mmm"

Alex fell off the blonde and into her own space on the bed as she continued with her best attempts at regaining the rest of her breathe.

Piper turned on her side and curled up into her girlfriend. Alex wrapped an arm protectively around the younger woman.

"Maybe you should do that more often"

"I'll make a mental note" Alex chuckled before pecking the blonde on the forehead.

The two women then fell into a peaceful sleep for the second time that night.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you to the reviewers, followers and those who have favourited the story! S5 WAS SO GOOD. I just have no words in regard to vauseman… asdfghjkl AHHHH! The feels.**

To say the London trip was a success would be an understatement. Not only was it a nice relaxing, educational get away for both students and staff but it provided Alex and Piper with some quality time together. And boy did they take advantage of that fact. Since Alex had told her ex-girlfriend about Piper and herself, Sylvia had seemed to have backed off but Alex could never be too sure that this was the end of that situation.

It was now the middle of November. Piper had just dismissed her first class of the day before she heard a pair of heels clicking across the wooden floor of the corridor, adjacent to Piper's classroom. The blonde was focused solely on her computer, checking her emails with her back to the door which creaked open slightly before shutting once more.

Piper didn't need to turn around to find out who had entered the room. She could sense the tall brunette's presence. She smirked a little to herself as she heard the footsteps becoming louder and louder before they came to an abrupt stop behind her. She stopped all movements on the computer in apprehension of the next movements.

A hand grasped the backrest of the chair which Piper was currently sitting in and began to rotate the chair in a 180-degree turn. The blonde allowed a big grin to settle across her face at the action. As blue eyes met green, matching smirks were donning the two faces.

"Hey" Alex whispered.

"Hey yourself"

Alex stepped back a little so that she could perch herself on the edge of Piper's main desk.

"So, Miss Chapman… How has your morning been?" Alex asked as she grasped for Piper's chair and began pulling it towards herself.

Piper allowed herself to be dragged across the floor and came to a stop directly in front of her girlfriend.

Alex spread her legs a small amount so that Piper could sit between them in the chair contently.

"Hmm" Piper let out as she roamed the length of Alex's body with her eyes for the first time today. "All the better now"

Alex smirked in response. "Is that so?"

The blonde nodded. "It's been crazy but now…."

Piper bit her lip as she scanned the beautiful woman sat before her. She offered a lip bite to show the tall brunette that she liked exactly what she saw. The blonde raised her hands and placed one each on Alex's thighs. She began trailing up and down slightly with feather like touches.

"What can I do for you then Miss Vause?" Piper asked pleasantly.

Alex eyed the hands rubbing along her thighs. Willing herself not to give away that this was having an effect on her.

"Well… I have a question for you"

"You do?" Piper questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Pipes what are your plans for thanksgiving?"

The blonde's brows furrowed momentarily, stopping her hand movements as she thought. "I guess I'll be going back home, you know? Big family get together". She sighed as she thought about it.

"You don't sound so happy about that Pipes" Alex teased placing her own hands on top of the blonde's and linking them together.

"Babe if you knew my mother you'd know exactly why I'm not thrilled to be spending time with her"

Alex nodded before pursing her lips. "You know, you could always join us lot and my mom?"

"Wh-what?" Piper stuttered.

"Don't look so mortified Pipes!" Alex chuckled. "I mean it, I want you to meet Diane"

"No no I'm not mortified… In fact I would love to" The blonde smiled sincerely.

"You would?!"

"Yes" Piper responded with a giggle

"Seriously?" Alex questioned again to get a final confirmation.

Piper let out a low chuckle before slapping her girlfriend lightly on the arm. "Yes you idiot!"

The brunette grinned widely before leaning down and capturing the blonde's lips in a sweet kiss.

"mmm… she's going to love you" Alex mumbled in between kisses.

"I hope so" The blonde stated whilst gazing into her lover's eyes.

Suddenly, the pair were interrupted as someone barged into the room.

"Hey love birds, do you actually plan on doing some work today orrr?" Nicky left the question hanging.

Piper scooted away from in between Alex's legs and allowed for a safe distance.

"You know there's this thing called knocking…" The blonde trailed off.

"Don't waste your breath Pipes, I've tried telling her numerous times" Alex shook her head.

Nicky held her hands up in defence. "It's a good job I came in now and not 10 minutes later when you would've had blondie here bent over the table screaming your name huh?"

"You know… we tend to leave that kind of stuff for when we're in my office where the door can be locked" The brunette shrugged her shoulders.

At this Piper swivelled in her chair to face her computer once more as she flushed beet red, throwing her hands to cover her face.

"Well fuck. Nice one Vause" Nicky congratulated her friend as if she were a proud mother.

"Anything else you two get up to in there?" Nicky asked as she sat on top of the table nearest to her with her arms folded. Genuinely interested.

"Well I mean, Piper has been known to-"

"ALEX" Piper turned to face the brunette. Her eyes burning through her girlfriend. Daring her to continue that sentence.

Alex threw her head back in laughter. "I'm only teasing Pipes" She held her hands out in surrender.

"We'll save that one for the club tonight Vause" Nicky added with a wink.

Piper snapped her head up. "Oh, you're going out drinking tonight?" the blonde enquired.

"Where else would we be on a Friday night blondie?"

"I just thought that…" Piper sighed as she looked at the taller woman expectantly.

Alex smirked. "What is it?"

"I thought that we could do something together" Piper responded sounding vulnerable. She avoided the gaze of both women at all costs.

The brunette looked over to her best friend whom wagged her eyebrows in response.

Alex cocked her head to the side while gazing at the younger woman. "How about you join us tonight and then stay over. Then we have all weekend to do things together" She eyed her suggestively.

"Oh man. That means I'm getting first dabs on listening to you two moaning each other's names all goddamn weekend" Nicky beamed.

Alex swung her head round. "Can't you stay at Lorna's or something?"

"And miss out on all the action? I think not" Nicky shook her head as if in deep thought.

"Or I could always bring Lorna back and we can turn it into some kind of party?" Nicky had the biggest shit eating grin on her face now.

Pipers eyes became wide. "Wha – NO!"

"Chill Pipes she's kidding" Alex throatily laughed.

"That's what you think boss!" Nicky exclaimed. "I know that deep down you think it'd be really hot"

The tall brunette shook her head. "Right, what exactly is it that you wanted because as you could see we were kind of in the middle of something" she explained gesturing between herself and her girlfriend.

Nicky's facial expression changed into one of seriousness as realisation hit her. "SHIT. I got side tracked" she jumped off the table. "Figueroa is here to see you, we've been calling for you over the radio but you weren't responding!"

Alex leaned her head back withdrawing a big sigh. "Great ok. Pipes we'll pick this up later" she pecked her girlfriend on the lips before striding for the door.

"See you later blondie" Nicky winked in the blonde's direction before disappearing out of the door alongside the tall brunette.

Alex was filled with dread as she navigated the corridors alongside her best friend. Natalie Figueroa was known as the 'top dog' across the whole of the Litchfield state schools. When she turned up to see you, you knew that it was going to be bad news and bad news only.

"She's in your office" Lorna informed Alex as she walked briskly past the receptionist desk.

The tall brunette offered a polite thanks with a warm smile before continuing in the direction of her office.

She swung the door open and strode in to the office professionally.

"About time" the other woman in the room muttered.

Alex sighed as she rounded her desk and took a seat. "Sorry I was held up, what can I do for you?"

"Well as you are quite aware, the results for last year took a dip somewhat upon previous years and I wanted to make sure that you get things off to a good start this year" Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"Right…"

"So, there are some things which I think we should talk about putting in place so that we can maximise the potential from the students"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Listen I have everything under control, I don't need you breathing down my neck and adding extra pressures"

"Extra pressures?" Natalie chuckled with a shake of her head.

"How's about mixing business with pleasure for extra pressure huh?"

"What?" Alex asked quizzically.

"I turned a blind eye to you and what was she called? Sarah, Sally-

"Sylvia…"

"Yes, Sylvia that was it! But It's come to my attention that you're now getting involved with a certain Miss Chapman?"

Alex swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Look… Alex. You're a smart woman. A very smart woman and your personal life has nothing to do with me but when it begins to affect the way that the school performs then I have to start getting involved, do you understand?"

"The results last year had nothing to do with my relationship with Sylvia and you know it" Alex became very defensive, raising her voice slightly.

Natalie sat back in her chair to process the situation. The last thing she wanted was this to get out of hand.

"A number of things could've been factors of the failings last year but if your head isn't in the game then nobody else's will be"

The tall brunette rose to her feet as she began to pace the room.

"I'm fully focused on this. I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that these kids achieve the best that they can I assure you"

"Right" Natalie nodded as she also rose from her chair.

"I know that you're capable of achieving great things here. You're one of the best head teachers around so please forgive me for looking out for you. I just wanted to offer some words of advice…" she paused, gaining Alex's full attention.

"Consider what comes first, your relationship or your job and then choose one. If you choose both and the school continues to fail, I'll have to report back to the board and tell them who's at fault and possible reasons why..."

Alex laughed in disbelief. "So, you're giving me no other choice than to end my relationship really are you?"

Natalie placed her hands on her hips as she stood tall. "You knew that when you took this job you had to put the students first. The results are what count Alex and to be quite frank, it just wasn't good enough last year and no matter what you say, I think we both know that a big part of it was your lack of commitment for the school due to your personal situation"

Alex huffed as she slumped back in to her chair. She was at a loss for words. How could she be put in this position? Having to choose between the job she loves so much and the woman she truly loves.

"I'll leave it at that but I'll be back to support you on a regular basis"

"You mean check up on me" Alex laughed

"Not at all. You can do a brilliant job if you're concentrated fully on the school's best interests"

"Ok well thanks for stopping by." Alex was being blunt now but she wanted nothing more than this conversation to be over immediately.

"I'll see you around" And with that Natalie Figueroa made her exit from the room.

The raven-haired beauty threw her head back in the chair and threw her hands over her face. How was she going to get out of this situation?

Reaching for the intercom and pressing the corresponding button for Nicky she ordered; "Nick get in here now".

Within minutes her best friend barged through the door with a smug grin on her face. Her expression faltered immediately after seeing the expression Alex was sporting right then.

"Who's died?"

"Shut up" Alex shook her head.

The taller woman gestured for Nicky to sit opposite her as she grasped for the bottle inside her top drawer. She pulled it out and slammed it on the table.

"Isn't it a little early… even for us?" Nicky smirked.

Alex pulled out two small glasses and poured some of the fiery liquid into each.

"Drink up" she ordered.

The two women downed their drinks and placed their glasses back on the table with a thud.

"Fuck" Nicky shivered. "I take it you're in this vile mood because of something Fig said?"

"You don't even want to know" Alex pouted as she circled the rim of her glass with the tip of her finger.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Not this time Nick" Alex replied as she went to pour yet more drinks.

Nicky snatched the bottle from Alex's grasp before she could go any further.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, do you?"

Alex remained silent, staring in to space as she was deep in thought.

"How about I hold the fort for the rest of the day and you get yourself home?"

"I have meetings" Alex mumbled.

"So they'll have to deal with me" Nicky reasoned.

"What would I do without you huh?" Alex smirked.

"Don't be getting all soppy Stretch. Go home and get yourself some rest because tonight we are going to PARTY!" Nicky emphasised that final word.

"Alright I'm going!" Alex exclaimed as she stood up and gathered her personal belongings together.

"If Piper comes looking for me just tell her that ill see her tonight ok?"

"Sure thing boss"

"Thanks Nick, I owe you one" Alex smiled genuinely as she exited the room and made her way home.


	15. Chapter 15

Unfortunately, I will no longer be updating this story. I've read through it numerous times and it just feels like utter garbage compared to all these other amazing stories on here. Plus I don't really have much time to update anymore so I don't know if or when I would ever be able to finish it. I will delete this eventually but I'd like to thank you those who gave it a chance and read, followed, fav'd and reviewed! I've never written anything before so I guess I gave it a go but it wasn't really any good lol! Thanks again xo


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